JEHU WAS A ROD OF CHASTISEMENT ON AHAB’S HOUSE There is no doubt that Jehu has done a great effort to destroy the whole house of Ahab wherever they were; fulfilling the prophecy of the Prophet Elijah, that no male descendent of Ahab will remain alive (1 Kings 21: 17-24). He also broke down the worship of Baal. But that salvation from evil was not followed by a positive work to build up the worship of the living God; He did not walk in the law of the Lord from his whole heart; and did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam who made Israel sin; as though he turned Israel into a void house.. Jehu represented someone jealous on the church of God; yet enslaved under sins and evil desires from which he does not seek to rid himself; or he is like someone serious in getting rid of the negatives, but without moving by the divine grace, to enjoy the positives. God rewarded Jehu for the sake of what he did, by letting his sons sit on the throne of Israel only to the fourth generation. Here, the author moves from talking about Israel to talk about Judah, where Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, was the wife of Jehoram king of Judah for as long as six years (831-835 BC) (2 Chronicles 22: 10; 23: 21); loved evil, characterized by violence, and oppressed the godly 1- Jehu kills Ahabs sons 1 - 10 2- Jehu kills all who remained of Ahab’s house, and his acquaintances 11 3- Jehu kills Ahaziah’s brothers 12 - 14 4- Jehu encounters Jehonadab 15 - 17 5- Jehu kills the worshippers of Baal 18 - 28 6- Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam 29 - 31 7- The end of Jehu 32 – 36 1- JEHU KILLS AHAB’S SONS: “ Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to those who reared Ahab’s sons, saying: “ (1) Ahab had 70 sons and grandsons in Samaria, because he had many wives, who gathered together in the capital, while the king went to Ramoth Gilead to recover of his wounds, and to relax. Once they heard the news of Jehu’s rebellion, and taking the throne by force, they gathered together in a stronghold in the city. “To the rulers of Jezreel”; The rulers of Jezreel probably escaped from Jezreel to Samaria. In the Jesuite version it came as “To the rulers of Israel”, and in another version it came as: “He sent it from Jezreel to the rulers and elders of Samaria “: “Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons” (2) The goal of sending this message was to explore what lied in the heart of those rulers: whether they will take a position of submission to him, and accept him as king; or they will take the position of animosity, and defend the house of Ahab, even after the killing of his son Joram and his mother Jezebel. By saying, mockingly, “You have chariots and horses”, he means to say to them:: As long as you have princes, leaders, chariots, horses, weapons, etc. Set one of Ahab’s sons or grandsons a king, and let us make war; which he knew for sure that they would not dare to do, “choose the best qualified of your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house” (3) This message reveals the personality of Jehu; as a military brave and daring man, who fulfill his goals without wasting any time. He put in hid heart to start by Samaria; for in case there happen to be any rebellion there, some other cities of Israel will follow suit, and it would become difficult for him to control the situation. He wrote to the rulers and princes who raised the king’s sons, as it was the custom at that time; for fear that they might commiserate with them, on account of that they raised them.. He did not seek entering with them into a debate, for the situation did not warrant any debate: They had the option to accept him a king, or to enter into war against him. He left it to them to decide among themselves. As for him he will stick to his decision. “ But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, “Look, two kings could not stand up to him; how then can we stand?” (4) Terrified, all the rulers in Israel submitted to Jehu who has already killed the kings of Israel and Judah. They knew for sure that, by his message he was mocking them, but had no fear of them; for he knew, that without a king, whose orders they used to abide without debate, and with no role in taking decisions, they were confused. :”And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your sight.” (5) He who was in charge of the house, namely the overseer of the royal court (1 Kings 4: 6), and at the same time the governor of the city, who had the responsibility to write the executive orders, wrote to Jehu, in collaboration with the main rulers, to proclaim their unanimous unconditional submission to him, without need to enter into any battle, nor to shed any blood. “”Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying: If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them”.(6) Giving them no time to ponder, he sought from them to take the heads of the men, and come to him at Jezreel by that time the next day, as a confirmation that they killed them all, and have not let any of them get away. To make sure of establishing his kingdom, he sought the heads of his competitors; to have no adversaries among Ahab’s sons or grandsons, whom anyone in the army or outside of it, may declare a king. According to the customs in the old East, those who take the throne by force used to kill everyone who happen to have the right for the throne. Seeking from them to come to him in Jezreel, it is obvious that he has already started to practice his work as a king in the royal palace in Jezreel; and that he wrote his messages to the rulers in Samaria from the royal palace. “So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.” (7) In the Assyrian inscriptions, we often see the heads of rulers sent from one place to another, not in baskets, but held by the hair. They did not go to him in person, for fear that he might kill them likewise; They sent to him the heads, albeit most probably with shame and reproach, for killing those they have raised of the sons of the king to whom they were loyal and faithful. Cutting off the head played a major role in destroying even the mighty armies; as the armies in the old have always been bound, in victory or defeat, to their leader or to the king. When the young man David cut off the head of the mighty Goliath, the army of the Philistines were instantly broken down (1 Samuel 17: 54). For the same goal, the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead fastened the bodies of king Saul and his sons to the wall with nails (1 Samuel 31: 9-12); as it also happened to the family of Ahab (10: 7, 8); and the Jews hung Nicanor’s head and the right arm of the Syrian leader, from the citadel in front of Jerusalem (2 Maccabees 15: 35); and Judith sought to hang the head of Eliphanah, the leader of the Assyrian army that she cut off.; . “Then a messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said, ‘Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.’” (8) Laying the heads in two heaps, on the right and the left of the city gate, was intended to let all those coming in or getting out of the city see them, have fear of Jehu, and submit to him, in particular those who were on Ahab’s side. That show that took place in the evening once the heads of the king’s sons came, remained until the morning, to spread the news, not only in Jezreel, but all over the country; as, most probably, rulers from everywhere came to proclaim their submission to him. Such a show would certainly destroy any probable thought or attempt to resist Jehu. In the old in several countries, like Turkey, Persia, and Baghdad, making such a show of the cut off heads put in heaps at the city gate, used to be a declaration of the glory of conquest. The Egyptians used to gather together the hands as a count of the number of the dead. While king Saul sought from David to gather together certain other parts of the bodies of the dead (1 Samuel 8: 25, 27). No wonder that up to the twentieth century, some countries still made such a show of the corpses of those executed. “So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, “You are righteous. Indeed I conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these?” (9) In his address to the people, Jehu claimed that, even though the sons and grandsons of the king were killed by the leaders and the elders; on account of misunderstanding his message to them, Yet what happened was, anyway, according to a divine judgment because of the evil of the house of the king. What he said was the truth; for it was according to a divine command on the mouth of the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 21: 21); yet saying that the rulers killed the sons of the king, by misunderstanding his message, was not the whole truth; because the killing was according to his obvious command. As some, probably felt guilty, in how, having been faithful to the house of Ahab, they all of a sudden joined his killer, he intended to put their conscience at peace, by showing that: 1- On one aspect, no one among the people, committed any treason or crime against the house of Ahab 2- Killing the sons of Ahab was a result of misunderstanding his message to the rulers 3- What happened was according to the words said by the Lord Himself, whose words would never fall. A great crowd gathered together to hear what lied behind that episode; some of them surely bore a kind of loyalty to the house of Ahab; and some harbored an inner rebellion against them. And Jahu had to tell them why the two kings and Jezebel were killed; and the reasons behind the massacre in Samaria. The situation was very critical. Even though, with his huge military might, nobody in the whole kingdom could dare to challenge him, yet he was committed to convince the people and the rulers of his quick daring actions without taking anybody’s counsel.. He was facing many who were loyal to the house of Ahab, even though in secret; and was facing the officers of the royal court who felt indebted to the house of Ahab for their positions. “Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of the LORD which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the LORD has done what He spoke by His servant Elijah” (10) It is difficult to evaluate the personality of Jehu; for, on one aspect, he honored the word of the Lord on the tongues of the prophets; counted himself a tool in God’s hand to fulfill His purpose; opposed the worship of Baal, and did his best to take it away; But, on another aspect he continued to worship the golden calves set by Jeroboam in Bethel and Dan (2 kings 10: 29). He actually selfishly used fulfilling God’s judgments to the account of his own ambitions. + The words of the Lord, above anything else, are enough to hold our hearts fast in the Holy Spirit, our Leader; to stay unshakable in receiving every word uttered by the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8: 3) … David says: “The works of His hands are verity and justice; all His precepts are sure; they stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness” (psalm 111: 7, 8) … And in the second book of the kings, Jehu says: “Nothing shall fall to earth of the word of the Lord which the Lord spoke” (2 Kings 10: 10). (St. Basil the Great) 2- JEHU KILLS ALL WHO REMAINED OF AHAB’S HOUSE AND HIS ACQUAINTANCES: “So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining” (11). By killing all his great men and his close acquaintances and priests, he, most probably killed, as well, some of those who cut off the heads of the seventy sons and grandsons of Ahab. . He did not stop at destroying Ahab and his household, according to the command of the Lord, but he killed, as well all those of authority, who might probably join together in commiserating with the house of Ahab against him, even after killing them.. Here, he does not mean all the priests of Baal; for he later on conspired to have them all killed (2 Kings 10: 19); but he means here the priests of Baal in the royal court, who had an important role and authority.. In his zeal, Jehu went far beyond the divine command; for which the prophet Hosea proclaimed, later on, the punishment upon the house of Jehu for the sake of those violent actions (Hosea 1: 4-5). 3- JEHU KILLS AHAZIAH’S BROTHERS: “And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at Beth Eked of the Shepherds” (12) “At Beth Eked of the shepherds”, In the Jesuite version, it came as “in the house of the congregation of the shepherds”; and in the English version it came as “The house of shearing of the shepherds”; namely where the shepherds used to shear their sheep every year. The word “Eked” probably refers to binding the feet of the sheep while shearing them… Or “Beth Eked”, probably refers to a location close to Mount Gilboa. “Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, “Who are you? So they answered, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother” (13) By saying “brothers” here, they mean his relatives, particularly his nephews; for his brothers were already killed (2 Chronicles 21; 17; 22: 8). Jehu’s swift and firm actions, made everyone fear to talk about those events, which made them secret to some extent; Those relatives of the two kings here, came to greet the sons of the king and of the queen mother, not aware of what has taken place, and were consequently killed themselves. “And he said, “Take them alive!” So they took them alive, and killed them at the well of Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them” (14). He probably thought about captivating them, and gave the command to take them alive, before any of them could get away, then he decided to kill them, 4- JEHU ENCOUNTERS JEHONADAB: “Now when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart? And Jehonadab answered, ‘It is’, and Jehu said, ‘If it is, give me your hand’. So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot” (15) Jehonadab, means (The Lord is noble or generous), a relative of Jehu. He was the son of Rechab the Kenite, a monk faithful in his relationship with God; who formed the congregation of the Rechabites, named after his father; commanded them to live as nomads in the wilderness, not to build houses, nor to plant fields, but live in tents (Jeremiah 35: 1-16); and committed them and their children to refrain from drinking wine forever. He showed his zeal by separating himself, together with his family from idol-worship; and from the pressures and seductions of the society. In chapter 35 of his book, Jeremiah commends their godliness, and presents a magnificent portrait of their dedication to God; Hence the divine promise came, saying: “Jehonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever” (Jeremiah 35: 18, 19).; which reveals the presence of godly men in Israel (the ten tribes), even though few in number. Jehonadab, the chief of the Rechabites (Jeremiah 35: 6-9), an opponent of the worship of Baal, whose courage gave the Rechabite a special position, came to encounter Jehu the son of Nemshi after he was declared a king over Israel, having destroyed the household of the wicked Ahab. Seeing him, Jehu blessed him, namely greeted him, considering uniting with such a man will guarantee the loyalty of all the tribe of the Rechabites. Historically, Hobab the Kenite accompanied the children of Israel in their journey from Egypt ; and after their entrance into Canaan, the Kenites dwelt South of Judah. Jehu said to him: “Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart? And Jehonadab answered, “It is, it is” (15) and Jehu shouted all of a sudden: “Give me your hand”, “and took him up to him into the chariot” , saying, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord”. … From this we know that Jehu knew that Jehonadab was a man, dedicated to worship the Lord, and hated idol-worship, who never mixed with idol-worshippers in the temple of Samaria before they were killed. “Give me your hand”, an expression that, beside bearing Jehu’s help to Jehonadab to mount the chariot, a sign of making a covenant between the two of them. His presence with him in the chariot was an obvious sign before the people that they were both of the same page of thinking. Yet, when Jehonadab saw Jehu still walking in the way of Jeroboam, his spirit was crushed in him for the insults directed toward the Lord; and led him to commit himself to a way of life that testifies to his rejection of evil, and of enjoying the pleasures of life; and even of being a citizen in that land that made the worship of the Lord impossible without the divine grace., “ Then he said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD.” So they had him ride in his chariot” (16). The first book of the Maccabees tells us about the faithfulness of the Rechabites, from whose seed the Maccabees came, in keeping the law of the Lord, in holding fast to the worship of the living God, and in their zeal on faith in the days of Epiphanius. The title of Psalm 71 in the Septuagint version, came as: ‘About the house of Jehonadab the son of Rechab, who were the first to be led into captivity; the psalm says: “I have become as a wonder to many; but You are my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with Your praise, and with Your glory all the day” (Psalm 71: 7, 8); and, “You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side” (Psalm 71: 21, 22). Boasting, therefore before Jehonadab saying: ‘Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord”, Jehu was deceptive even to himself. … How a hypocrite, a haughty, and a killer you are! … Do you really have zeal for Jehovah and His pure religion?!… How about your actions that reveals your real depths?! … While you call the others to testify to your zeal for the Lord, your godliness and love, in selfishness you are truly seeking your own benefits.. … Yes indeed, you destroyed the household of Ahab, but you used violence without limits. You killed all his friends, and the leaderships you had a little doubt of their loyalty… You surpassed every imaginable limit…. While you destroyed the worship of Baal, you left the two golden calves in Bethel and Dan…. You followed the lead of Jeroboam, who did not reject the worship of God altogether, nor considered Him a false God; or rejected the law of Moses; but mixed the worship of God with foreign worships; and forbade the people to go to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, and to partake of the celebration of the feasts in Jerusalem. “And when he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah” (17). Although he literally fulfilled the words of the Lord, yet his heart was pervert; and all his actions were for the sake of his own honor; working to the account of his temporal glory, not that of the Lord; Hence he drank from the cup of his works, even in reference to the blood in Jezreel; as it is said by the prophet Hosea: “In a little while, I will avenge the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. It shall come to pass in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel” (Hosea 1: 4-5). 5- JEHU KILLS THE WORSHIPPERS OF BAAL: “ Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much” (18) Proclaiming that no other worship will be in Israel except to the two golden calves in Behel and Dan; Jehu deceptively claimed that he was going to offer a sacrifice to Baal, in an attempt to gather together all the worshippers of Baal in one place, to slay them once and for all, with no one of them to escape.. “Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal” (19). With the spirit of deception, Jehu gave the command that whoever does not show zeal for the worship of Baal will have his life in danger. The text discerns between three categories of the worshippers of Baal: the prophets, the priests, and the common people who worshipped Baal. It was not difficult to gather together all those categories in one building; for their number steadily decreased as a result of the ministry of the prophets Elijah and Elisha; and because Jehoram neglected its worship. “ And Jehu said, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it” (20) In that, Jehu used an expression that came in the statute concerning the celebration of the major feasts of Jehovah, saying: “You shall call for a sacred assembly” (See Leviticus 23: 36; Numbers 29: 35; Deuteronomy 16: 8).. “Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the temple of Baal, and the temple of Baal was full from one end to the other” (21). The temple of Baal was erected by king Ahab (1 Kings 16-32); together with a surrounding annex that could accommodate several thousands. “And he said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out vestments for them” (22). The worshippers of Baal had special vestments to put on when they come to worship, the same it is done by almost the priests and the worshippers in all nations, considered sacred, and used only during service; most probably soft white fabric, stored in a special wardrobe in the temple under the charge of a designated person. Jehu sought that, not only for the priests of Baal, but for all the worshippers as well, to make sure that no one of those who worshipped the living God were among them. “Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that no servants of the LORD are here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” (23) It so seems that after a period of the spread of the worship of Baal, the priests of Baal used to get together with the priests of the Lord, in a sort of camouflage, yet, not at the time of offering the sacrifices. What made them conspicuous, though, was the vestment they used to put on inside the temple. It was, therefore, not new, nor strange for Jehu to seek from the prophets and priests of Baal to search and see that no stranger were there in the assembly; for many religions considered the presence of a stranger some kind of defilement of the worship, which warrants killing him. Therefore when Jehu so commanded, nobody doubted his intention. “ So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be his life for the life of the other.” (24) There was no truce with the pagan worship which was set upon apostasy from the true God, beside the practice of sexual abomination, etc, a sin that would destroy life itself. “ Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guards and to the captains, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out!” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal” (25) It was not clear from the text, if it was Jehu who offered the sacrifice, or the high priest of Baal. Most probably Jehu who donated the sacrifices which was offered by the priests of the Baal; by which he intended to put their hearts at peace of his good intentions. … When the first book of the kings say that the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the Lord (1 kings 8: 62), that does not imply that the king himself or the people did the actual offering; but they donated the sacrifices and the priests offered them. . “And they brought the sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them” (26). The sacred pillars in the house of Baal were most probably shapeless wooden structures (Deuteronomy 16: 21); whereas the statue of Baal (270 was in stone or metal. “ Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day” (27). The sacred pillars in the house of Baal were not images of Baal, but referred to gods of less level than Baal; whereas the statue of Baal that was torn down was most probably at the entrance of the temple. “Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel” (28) 6- JEHU DID NOT TURN AWAY FROM THE SINS OF JEROBOAM: “ However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan” (29) All the kings of Israel walked in the way of Jeroboam (1 Kings 12: 25 – 33); who set a kind of worship contrary to the commandments of the Lord, concerning the use of statutes in worship, the priests, the feasts, and the place of worship. He was preoccupied with destroying the Baal, yet without a true zeal to worship God with sanctification and purity! According to the apostle James: “Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2: 10); particularly when that sin was not out of weakness but done by intention to realize a personal benefit. Jehu has done wrong against God and men; for he did not turn away from the golden calves in Bethel and Dan; and because when he moved to destroy the house of the evil Ahab, he did it with a spirit of violence toward many who did not belong to the house of Ahab; and therefore, he lost the nature of love. “ Because you had no mercy on others, no mercy will be done to you; … Because you shut the door of your house before the poor, God will not open before you the door of His kingdom. … Because you denied the bread to the poor who demanded it from you, God will deny you the eternal life that you demand…. You will reap what you sowed. If you sow bitterness, you will reap bitterness;… If you sow cruelty, you will reap nothing but cruel labor and sufferings…. If you fled from mercy, it will flee from you; …. And if you despised the poor, you will be despised by Him who became poor for loving you. + He who does not show mercy, is not worthy of the mercies of God; and will not have a portion of God’s compassion by his prayers. + He who have mercy on man, God’s door will be open before his requests all the time. (The spiritual elder) “ And the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” (30) God commended Jehu for destroying the Baal-worship; God rewarded him by letting his sons reign on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation; namely Jehoahaz; Joash; Jeroboam, and Zechariah. But He punished him on his sins. “But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin” (31) Because Jehu’s goal was to get rid of all those who challenged his greed, he dealt with evil according to his heart’s desires…. We saw him destroy the house of Ahab, but he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam. …. He broke down the temple of Baal, but he kept the golden calves intact. … He made war against the enemies of the Lord, led by his own desires; Hence we read: “Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin” (31). Jehu’s sin was not that he consummated certain good work, and neglected another; but because he took no heed for the purity of his heart; the importance of which the Holy Book confirms in the following verses: “My son, do not forget My law; but let your heart keep My commands: (Proverb 3: 2) “Let not mercy or truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck; write them on the tablets of your heart” (Proverb 3: 3) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” (Proverb 3: 5) “Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart” (Proverb 4: 21) “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverb 4: 23) “Bind them continually upon your heart; tie them around your neck” (Proverb 6: 21) “Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise; and apply your heart to My knowledge” (Proverb 22: 17) “My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice – indeed I Myself” (Proverb 23: 15) “Hear, My son, and be wise ;and guide your heart in the way” (Proverb 23: 19) “My son, give me Your heart, and let your eyes observe My ways” (Proverb 23: 26). + “Keep your heart with all diligence”(Proverb 4: 23), lest something of devilish nature would enter into our minds; or any spirit of the adversaries may turn our thoughts according to his wish. We pray for the Light of the knowledge of God to shine in our hearts; and for the Spirit of God to dwell in our minds, to lead them to meditate in the divine things; For those who are led by the Spirit of God, are the children of God. (The scholar Origen) + Let us then live this way; Let us continuously keep our hearts diligent; for we have horrible and deceptive enemies, the evil demons, with whom we wrestle, according to the words of the apostle: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6: 12).. (St. Athanasius the apostolic) + . “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51: 10); he seeks such a creation; not that he had no heart, but having corrupted it, he desires to have it back clean. (St. Dedymus the blind) + Jehu, by impure lies, and unclean sacrifice, inquired about ungodly men to kill them; which the Holy Book does not want us to imitate; Talking about his person, it wrote that “his heart was not upright with God”; What would he benefit if he practiced a kind of obedience concerning the complete destruction of the house of Ahab, if he revealed the evil desire of authority, and got some mortal wages in a temporary kingdom? (St. Augustine) + It is not the unclean body, but the unclean soul that God hates … The prophet says: “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51: 10); and, “O, Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness” (Jeremiah 4: 14) 7- THE END OF JEHU: “ In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel; and Hazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel” (32) Out of Hazael God made a kind of a pair of scissors to cut off from the kingdom of Israel, all what was East of the Jordan, of the very fertile lands, from Aroer, at the frontier of Moab, in the far south, to Bashan, at the frontier of Moab in the far north. Yet the Lord’s wrath came upon Hazael, because he did that with greed and cruelty. “from the Jordan eastward: all the land of Gilead—Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh—from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, including Gilead and Bashan” (33). As a divine chastisement, Israel lost all the Eastern bank of the Jordan; and consequently, an utter destruction and desolation dwelt upon the region belonging to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 22: 1-9), on the hand of Hazael king of Aram. A region that the armies of Damascus could reach, more easily than through the western bank. “Aroer”, a Moabite and Hebrew name, meaning (naked or nakedness); many regions bore the same name, of which ‘Aroer’ mentioned here was the most prominent. A town to the North of the River ‘Arnon’ in Moab, south of the Amorite kingdom of Sihon; taken over by Hazael , after the Gadites fortified it. It is called ‘Araer’ nowadays, 12 miles east of the Dead Sea, a little south of Deban “Gilead and Bashan”, The whole region was called ‘Gilead’. Here he discerns between Gilead in the south, and Bashan in the north (1 kings 4: 13, 19). “Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?” (34) Jehu was a mighty man of valor, although he was ultimately collapsed and lost. His ‘might’ refers to his violent personality and courage, more than his authority, having been defeated before Hazael king of Aram. He reigned for 28 years, of which we only know the period at the beginning of his reign. The name of Jehu was inscribed on an old ‘black obelisk’, erected by ‘Shalmaneser’, the Assyrian king, in which Jehu appeared kneeling in humiliation before the Assyrian king. He paid tribute to the Aramites at the beginning of his reign (in the year 841 BC); The Holy Book did not mention his relation with Assyria, the nation that was about to become an international power. “So Jehu rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place (35) After the death of Jehu, his son Jehoahaz reigned in his place (13: 1 9); followed by Joash (also called Jehoash) (13: 10-13); then Jeroboam the second (14: 23- 29); then a short period by Zechariah (15: 8-12); who was killed by Shallum. By whom, the line of Jehu came to an end in the fourth generation according to the words of the Lord (10: 30). “And the period that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years” (36) Ahab’s family made `Jezreel the second capital of Israel, representing a partial center of reign (2 kings 9: 14-30). Whereas Jehu and his descendants concentrated on Samaria as their capital (2 kings 13: 10; 14: 23; 15: 8). No one reigned longer than Jehu on Israel except Jeroboam the second, who was among his descendants – who reigned for 40 years. Having started his reign uprightly, King Jehu could have been the subject of pleasure of God; but his heart was not completely upright not moderate. He destroyed the house of the evil Ahab; and destroyed the worship of Baal; but held fast to another form of idol-worship, the two golden calves set by Jeroboam. He was anointed by the prophet Elijah, and confirmed by the prophet Elisha; and could have been a good king who consummates the will of God; but his daring and arrogance made him prone to faults. His heart was not complete before God, he obeyed God in what conformed with his own personal agenda. His opposition to the worship of Baal was for the sake of political benefit; For as that worship was connected to Ahab’s family, destroying it established his throne. As to the two golden calves he left them intact, on account of that destroying them would make the people go back to the temple in Jerusalem to worship the true God , … his family, however, reigned for a duration longer than any other royal family. -------------------------------------- A N I N S P I R A T I O N F R O M 2 K I N G S 1 0 C R E A T E I N M E A C L E A N H E A R T , O G O D + Let Your Holy Spirit work in me; Let Him lead my whole life: my behavior, mind, heart, and all my senses I often deceive myself; I count myself fulfilling Your will; But as Your Holy Spirit is the Leader of my depths; Shining His light in me, I perceive the truth of my depths; He guides me in You, and leads me to You; + Grant me to become a tool of righteousness to the account of Your kingdom; I cannot claim that I defend the truth; For I would then be prone to criticism, judgment, and anger; Defending the truth, may cause me to lose love; For there would be no truth without love. + It may seem to me that walking in godliness is an easy matter; but who will control my eyes and my mind? Who will sanctify my hidden feelings and emotions? Who will grant me the holy truth, but You, O Holy One? Create a clean heart in me, O God; And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
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