Scripture: 2 Kings 9:1-13; 10:18-29 (NKJV)
9:1 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. 2 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. 3 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.”
4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. 5 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.” 6 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. 7 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. 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off
from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free. 9 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. 10 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.
11 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.” 12 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.”‘” 13 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!”
10:18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, “Ahab
served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. 19 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. 20 And Jehu said, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they
proclaimed it. 21 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. 22 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. 23 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.”
24 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.” 25 Now it happened, as soon as he
had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard 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. 26 And they brought
the sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them. 27 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. 28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel. 29
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.
Devotion
Jehu brought an end to the house of Ahab and wiped out Baal worship in the
land. He eradicated Baal worship, not because He worshiped the one true God,
but because the Baalist leaders were allied with Ahab and were a threat to
Jehu. He did away with them by deception, declaring a festal assembly, then
blocking the doors and having them all put to the sword. He had ensured full
participation in the assembly by decreeing that all who were absent would be
slain. And, as we see, all who showed up were slain anyway. There was an
additional death threat: any guard allowing anyone to escape would also be
killed.
We too live under a death threat, being the inheritors of the dread sentence
brought about by Adam’s disobedience. “All flesh is grass…. The grass withers,
the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Is. 40:6, 8). In
that holy Word of God we have the assurance that whoever trusts in Christ shall
live, even though he dies. Far from being merely relieved that we have “dodged
the bullet,” the Gospel makes us into new persons.
Jesus spoke of an exchange: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matt.
16:24-25). We are empowered in this by the truly great exchange in which He who
had no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. (2
Cor. 5:21).
The Lutheran Herald is a publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of
North America. These daily devotions are authored by the bishop, pastors, and
deacons of the diocese. Daily posts are provided by The Reverend Jeffrey A.
Ahonen.
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