Moral Assessment Of
Jehoshaphat's Reign
1 Kings 22:41-46 reads,
22:41Jehoshaphat
the son of Asa began to reign over
Worship Of Yahweh
Was Not Entirely Pure In Jehoshaphat's Reign
It should be noted that even in the
Sexual Immorality Is
Extant In Environments Dominated Or Influenced By Jezebel
It should also be noted that the environment that both Jehoshaphat and Ahab lived in had sodomites or homosexuals practising their sexual immorality. This is no different to our day, the time of the assembly in Thyatira, where even homosexuals profess themselves to be high ranking servants of Yah'shuah. These are the cohorts of Jezebel that Yah'shuah speaks about in Revelation 2:18-29. These, together with Jezebel, should not be tolerated by Yah'shuah's true servants. For these rebels, who disobey Yah'shuah and reject his word, have been rejected by Yah'shuah and are therefore not his true servants. These are the ones he allows evil spirits to influence, and therefore undertake the various works that they do through evil spirits! Yah'shuah's true servants in the assembly in Thyatira should therefore do away with these rebels, lest Yah'shuah comes out against them for tolerating rebels against him who also draw Yah'shuah's servants into rebellion against him!
Ahaziah, Ahab's Son
And Successor, Was Also An Idolater
2 Kings 1:1-18 reads,
1:1Moab
rebelled against
1:5The
messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why is it that you have
returned? 1:6They said to him, There
came up a man to meet us, and said to us, Go, turn again to the king who sent
you, and tell him, Thus says Yahweh, Is it because there is no God in
Israel, that you send to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you
shall not come down from the bed where you are gone up, but shall surely die.
1:7He said to them, What manner of
man was he who came up to meet you, and told you these words? 1:8They answered him, He was a hairy man, and
girt with a belt of leather about his loins. He said, It is Elijah the
Tishbite.
1:9Then
the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. He went up to him: and,
behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. He spoke to him, man of God, the
king has said, Come down. 1:10Elijah
answered to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, let fire come down
from the sky, and consume you and your fifty. Fire came down from the sky, and
consumed him and his fifty. 1:11Again
he sent to him another captain of fifty and his fifty. He answered him, man of
God, thus has the king said, Come down quickly. 1:12Elijah
answered them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from the sky, and
consume you and your fifty. The fire of God came down from the sky, and
consumed him and his fifty. 1:13Again
he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. The third captain of fifty
went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, and said
to him, man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty your
servants, be precious in your sight. 1:14Behold,
fire came down from the sky, and consumed the two former captains of fifty with
their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight. 1:15The angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, Go down
with him: don’t be afraid of him. He arose, and went down with him to the king.
1:16He
said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have sent messengers to inquire
of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to
inquire of his word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you
are gone up, but shall surely die. 1:17So
he died according to the word of Yahweh which Elijah had spoken. Jehoram
began to reign in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of
Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. 1:18Now
the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, aren’t they written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
1:2 reveals that Ahaziah, Ahab's son and successor, was also an idolater. For rather than seek Yahweh for help and healing he sought an idol.
Yahweh's People
Should Serve Him Faithfully, Without Being Idolaters
1:3-4 reiterates Yahweh's message to his people. His people should not be idolaters, as if Yahweh is non-existent. Yahweh exists, and is near his people for consultation, if only they listen to his words and abide in his will. Yahweh's people should worship only Yahweh, and should not be idolaters.
Idolatry Is
Punishable By Death
It should also be noted that Yahweh decreed, through his servant Elijah, the death penalty upon Ahaziah for his idolatry. In other words, idolatry is sin punishable by death.
Yah'shuah's People
In Thyatira Should Not Be Idolaters, Even As Jezebel And Her Cohorts Are
Yahweh's people, Yah'shuah's servants in the assembly in Thyatira, should take heed of these lessons from Yahweh. They should not be idolaters, following after or tolerating the idolatrous practices of Jezebel and her cohorts within their midst. They should remove idolatry from their midst, and worship only Yahweh - faithfully and wholeheartedly.
Elijah Performed His
Works At Yahweh's Word And Not On His Own Authority
1:9-15 shows that Elijah performed his works at Yahweh's command, and not on the authority of his own thoughts. When Yahweh told him that is was fine to go with the third captain of fifties, together with his fifty, Elijah went. It is therefore implied that in the two previous cases when Elijah did not accompany the captains of the fifties together with their fifties, it was because Yahweh had told Elijah not to go. Also, seeing that Elijah answered these two captains of fifties in a particular manner, and fire came down from Yahweh and consumed them, it is indeed implied that Elijah did so at Yahweh's command, and not on his own authority.
Serve Yah'shuah At
His Word, And Not On Your Own
Learning from Elijah, Yah'shuah's servants should undertake the various works that they do at his command. They should not do so on the strength of their own authority, but should willingly submit to Yah'shuah's authority.
Jehoram, Ahab's Son,
Followed In His Parents' Evil, Though Less Intensely
2 Kings 3 reads,
3:1Now
Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth
year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. 3:2He did that which was evil in the sight of
Yahweh, but not like his father, and like his mother; for he put away the
pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3:3Nevertheless
he cleaved to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel
to sin; he didn’t depart from it.
3:4Now
Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master; and he rendered to the king of Israel
the wool of one hundred thousand lambs, and of one hundred thousand rams. 3:5But it happened, when Ahab was dead, that
the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 3:6King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that
time, and mustered all Israel. 3:7He
went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled
against me: will you go with me against Moab to battle? He said, I will go up:
I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. 3:8He said, Which way shall we go up? He
answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom. 3:9So
the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they
made a circuit of seven days’ journey: and there was no water for the host, nor
for the animals that followed them.
3:10The
king of Israel said, Alas! For Yahweh has called these three kings together to
deliver them into the hand of Moab. 3:11But
Jehoshaphat said, Isn’t there here a prophet of Yahweh, that we may inquire
of Yahweh by him? One of the king of Israel’s servants answered, Elisha
the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah. 3:12Jehoshaphat said, The word of Yahweh is
with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went
down to him.
3:13Elisha
said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? Get you to the
prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother. The king of
Israel said to him, No; for Yahweh has called these three kings together to
deliver them into the hand of Moab. 3:14Elisha
said, As Yahweh of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not
that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look
toward you, nor see you. 3:15But
now bring me a minstrel. It happened, when the minstrel played, that the
hand of Yahweh came on him.
3:16He
said, Thus says Yahweh, Make this valley full of trenches. 3:17For thus says Yahweh, You shall not see
wind, neither shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water,
and you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your animals. 3:18This is but a light thing in the sight of
Yahweh: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 3:19You shall strike every fortified city, and
every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all springs of
water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.
3:20It
happened in the morning, about the time of offering the offering, that behold,
there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. 3:21Now when all the Moabites heard that the
kings had come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all
who were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood on the border. 3:22They rose up early in the morning, and the
sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water over against them as red
as blood: 3:23and they said, This is
blood; the kings are surely destroyed, and they have struck each man his
fellow: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. 3:24When
they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the
Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward into the land
smiting the Moabites. 3:25They beat
down the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone,
and filled it; and they stopped all the springs of water, and felled all the
good trees, until in Kir-hareseth only they left the stones of it; however the
men armed with slings went about it, and struck it.
3:26When
the king of Moab saw that the battle was too severe for him, he took with him
seven hundred men who drew sword, to break through to the king of Edom; but
they could not. 3:27Then he took
his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him for a burnt
offering on the wall. There was great wrath against Israel: and they departed
from him, and returned to their own land.
3:1-3 shows that Ahab and Jezebel's idolatry continued even in the succeeding generation. For Ahab's son Jehoram continued in idolatry when he assumed the throne of Israel, though did not practice it to the extent it was practised in his father's day.
An Indictment
Against Jehoshaphat King Of Judah
3:10-12 is a minor indictment against Jehoshaphat king of Judah. For while Jehoshaphat knew who the true prophets of Yahweh were, and knew that Yahweh's word was with Elisha the son of Shaphat, he agreed to accompany Jehoram on the war expedition prior to consulting Yahweh to ascertain Yahweh's will in the matter. He should have consulted Yahweh before embarking on the expedition and not only after they had met some insurmountable obstacles while on the expedition.
Seek Yahweh's Will
Before Embarking On A Major Undertaking
Yahweh's people should seek Yahweh's will before embarking on major undertakings, that he may guide them with respect to what they should do.
Yahweh's Servants
Generally Have No Time For Idolaters
It should be noted from 3:13-15 that Yahweh's servants generally have no time for those who do not serve Yahweh but are idolaters. When these idolaters seek to benefit from Yahweh while they persist in their idolatry Yahweh generally has no time for them. Yahweh accords his time and blessings to those who serve him, and therefore his servants respond positively to the requests of those faithfully serving Yahweh.
Elisha Spoke The
Word Of Yahweh And Not His Own Words
It should be noted from 3:15 that Elisha did not speak to the three kings the words of his own mind, but sought Yahweh's word to deliver it to them. Therefore when the minstrel played, presumably music in praise and worship of Yahweh, "the hand of Yahweh", that is the Spirit of Yahweh, came upon Elisha accompanied by Yahweh's word. Learning from Elisha, Yah'shuah's servants should not speak their own words or undertake their own works, but should speak and do only what Yahweh bids them to speak or do.
An Insight Into The
Works Of Darkness
3:26-27 provides an insight into the works of darkness. When the king of Moab saw that his human forces were inadequate to secure him escape from the hand of the king of Edom he sacrificed his own son, who was to succeed him upon his throne, as a burnt offering. And when he did so there was "great wrath against Israel".
Do Not Sacrifice
Another Human Being As A Burnt Offering
It should be noted that Yahweh forbids his people from sacrificing their fellow humans as burnt offerings. For Leviticus 18:21-30 reads,
18:21"'You
shall not give any of your children to sacrifice to Molech; neither shall you
profane the name of your God: I am Yahweh.
18:22"'You
shall not lie with a man, as with a woman. That is detestible.
18:23"'You
shall not lie with any animal to defile yourself with it; neither shall any woman
give herself to an animal, to lie down with it: it is a perversion.
18:24"'Don't
defile yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations which I
am casting out before you were defiled. 18:25The
land was defiled: therefore I punished its iniquity, and the land vomitted out
her inhabitants. 18:26You
therefore shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, and shall not do any
of these abominations; neither the native-born, nor the stranger who
sojourns among you; 18:27(for all
these abominations have the men of the land done, that were before you, and the
land became defiled); 18:28that the
land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation
that was before you.
18:29"'For
whoever shall do any of these abominations, even the souls that do them shall
be cut off from among their people. 18:30Therefore
you shall keep my charge, that you do not practice any of these abominable
customs, which were practiced before you, and that you do not defile
yourselves with them: I am Yahweh your God.'"
Human Sacrifices
Defile Their Partakers
As Yahweh forbids the sacrifice of human beings it should be noted that those who partake of such sacrifices do not sacrifice to Yahweh but do so Molech or other idol gods. Such abominations defile those who partake of them. This implies that unrighteousness comes upon them on account of these abominations.
Human Sacrificing Is
Not A Vain Activity, But One That Yields Results!
When the king of Moab sacrificed his son to his idol god the resulting effect was great wrath against Israel. In other words, the sacrifice of his son was not a worthless activity, but one that yielded results - immediately! And the great wrath against Israel facilitated the escape of the king of Moab from the hands of the three kings who had surrounded him.
Human Sacrificing Is
Calling Upon The Forces Of Darkness
Seeing that human sacrifice is not of Yahweh, and seeing that it is a work of abomination and darkness, it is indeed implied that the forces of darkness came out against Israel on account of the human sacrifice. In other words, a manner of calling upon the forces of darkness is to undertake human sacrifice. And the "great wrath against Israel" is synonymous with Satan. In other words, when human sacrifice is undertaken, Satan comes out to fight for the cause of the one undertaking the human sacrifice.
Human Sacrificing Is
Satanic And Demonic Worship!
Human sacrifice is therefore idolatry of a most intense kind, whereby one sacrifices to and worships Satan and his demons. And when they receive such worship they come out to fight for their subjects!
Yah'shuah's People
Should Understand That They Are Warring Against Spiritual Forces
Yah'shuah's people should take note of these events that take place in both the spiritual and physical arenas. In other words, these are the forces that we do battle against, rather than just flesh and blood. Nevertheless, we should note that Yahweh is the Omnipotent One and that evil spirits can do nothing without Yahweh permitting them so to do. Therefore, by remaining close to Yahweh, worshipping him faithfully and wholeheartedly, we can call upon him to overcome and defeat on our behalf the forces of darkness, even in the face of human sacrifice!
Yahweh's Judgement
On Jezebel And The House Of Ahab
2 Kings 9 reads,
9:1Elisha
the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up
your loins, and take this vial of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. 9:2When you come there, look out there Jehu
the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up
from among his brothers, and carry him to an inner chamber. 9:3Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on
his head, and say, Thus says Yahweh, I have anointed you king over Israel. Then
open the door, and flee, and don’t wait.
9:4So
the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 9:5When he came, behold, the captains of the
host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to you, captain. Jehu said, To
which of us all? He said, To you, O captain. 9:6He
arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said to
him, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, I have anointed you king over the
people of Yahweh, even over Israel. 9:7You
shall strike 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 Yahweh, at the hand
of Jezebel. 9:8For the whole house
of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab every man-child, and him who
is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel. 9:9I 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. 9:10The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion
of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. He opened the door, and
fled.
9:11Then
Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said to him, Is all well?
Why came this mad fellow to you? He said to them, You know the man and what his
talk was. 9:12They said, It is
false; tell us now. He said, Thus and thus spoke he to me, saying, Thus says
Yahweh, I have anointed you king over Israel. 9:13Then
they hurried, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top
of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, Jehu is king. 9:14So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of
Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth-gilead, he and
all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; 9:15but
king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians
had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, If this be
your mind, then let none escape and go forth out of the city, to go to tell it
in Jezreel. 9:16So Jehu rode in a
chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah was
come down to see Joram.
9:17Now
the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of
Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. Joram said, Take a horseman, and
send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace? 9:18So
there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus says the king, Is it
peace? Jehu said, What have you to do with peace? Turn you behind me. The
watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he isn’t coming back. 9:19Then he sent out a second on horseback, who
came to them, and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? Jehu answered, What
have you to do with peace? Turn you behind me. 9:20The
watchman told, saying, He came even to them, and isn’t coming back: and the
driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.
9:21Joram said, Make ready. They
made ready his chariot. Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went
out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and found him in
the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.
9:22It
happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? He
answered, What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and
her witchcraft abound? 9:23Joram
turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, Ahaziah. 9:24Jehu drew his bow with his full strength,
and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he
sunk down in his chariot. 9:25Then
said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the
field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how that, when I and you rode
together after Ahab his father, Yahweh laid this burden on him: 9:26Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of
Naboth, and the blood of his sons, says Yahweh; and I will requite you in this
plat, says Yahweh. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground,
according to the word of Yahweh.
9:27But
when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden-house.
Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot: and they
struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and
died there. 9:28His servants carried
him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in
the city of David. 9:29In the
eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.
9:30When
Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and
attired her head, and looked out at the window. 9:31As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Is
it peace, you Zimri, your master’s murderer? 9:32He
lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? Who?
There looked out to him two or three eunuchs. 9:33He
said, Throw her down. So they threw her down; and some of her blood was
sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trod her under foot. 9:34When he was come in, he ate and drank; and
he said, See now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king’s
daughter. 9:35They went to bury
her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms
of her hands. 9:36Therefore they
came back, and told him. He said, This is the word of Yahweh, which he spoke
by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall the
dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel; 9:37and
the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the portion of
Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
Yahweh's Instruction
To Elijah Effected By His Successor
It should be noted that Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi was anointed king in the days of Elisha, and upon Elisha issuing the instruction that he be so anointed. It should be remembered from 1 Kings 19:15-18 that Yahweh instructed Elijah to anoint three people, including Hazael, Jehu and Elisha. After Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind to heaven Elisha continued on with Elijah's work. It therefore appears that Elijah did not personally anoint Jehu as king over Israel, but the actual physical anointing was left to be carried out by his successors.
It therefore also appears that the word that Yahweh issued to Elijah to fulfil was not meant to be fulfilled personally by him, but fulfilled under his authority. Seeing that Elisha acted under Elijah's authority, and also had upon him the spirit of Elijah, what was fulfilled under Elisha's authority several years later was deemed to have been fulfilled by Elijah, who was so instructed by Yahweh at Horeb, the mountain of Yahweh.
Yahweh Wrecks His
Vengeance Upon His Opponents At His Appointed Time
Yahweh's word in 9:6-10 should be noted. The time had come for Yahweh to effect retribution against the house of Ahab and against Jezebel, who stirred up the house of Ahab into great idolatry and wickedness. Vengeance belongs to Yahweh, and he effects his vengeance at his appointed time.
Yahweh's Words
Accomplish Their Works Prior To Returning To Him
It should be noted that the young prophet acting under Elisha's direction simply recounted to Jehu what Yahweh has previously uttered to Elijah before Elisha succeeded him. In other words, once Yahweh's word has gone out, it does not return to him without having accomplished its work. The time for the accomplishment of that work had now come, including the oracle he spoke against Jezebel the idolater and wicked woman.
Jezebel - A
Prostitute And A Witch
Jehu's words in 9:22 concerning Jezebel's nature show that Jezebel was indeed both a prostitute and a witch. She was also a murderer, liar, idolater and greedy - a very wicked and abominable woman!
9:25-26 shows the manner Jehu carried out his works. He did them according to Yahweh's word, and was careful to ensure that Yahweh's vengeance against Ahab's house was executed according to the word Yahweh had spoken by his prophets.
Jezebel Shed Much
Innocent Blood In The Matter Of Naboth The Jezreelite
It should also be noted that in the murder of Naboth the Jezreelite it was not only Naboth who was murdered. His sons, who were to succeed to his inheritance, were also murdered together with him. Jezebel therefore shed much innocent blood, and Yahweh took note of it.
Jezebel Attired
Herself After The Manner Of Prostitutes And Witches
9:30 confirms that Jezebel attired herself after the manner of prostitutes and witches, even as Jehu described her as a prostitute and a witch. And not only was she a prostitute in the physical sense, she was also a prostitute in the spiritual sense, for idolatry is prostitution!
When The Time To
Execute Yahweh's Judgement Upon Idolaters Comes, Execute It Speedily
It should be noted from 9:31-33 that when Jehu had power to fulfil Yahweh's will he did not waste time reasoning with the prostitute and witch Jezebel. He simply sought out those who were on his side and those who were not, and used those on his side to effect Yahweh will against Jezebel!
Remove Jezebel And
Her Cohorts From Thyatira
Yah'shuah's servants in the assembly in Thyatira should learn from Jehu. They are not to tolerate Jezebel, even as Yah'shuah admonishes them. This means that they should simply find those who are for or against Jezebel, and ally themselves with those against Jezebel to remove Jezebel from within the midst of the assembly in Thyatira. Prostitutes and witches like Jezebel ought not to be tolerated, but should be exterminated from the midst of Yahweh's people.
9:34 shows that Jezebel was a "cursed woman", for Yahweh had cursed her on account of her evil and wickedness. In other words, those who are wicked are cursed by Yahweh and suffer the consequences of their curse.
Yahweh Fulfilled His
Word Against Jezebel
9:35-37 shows that Yahweh indeed fulfilled his word against Jezebel by his prophet Elijah the Tishbite. It took many years before the word was fulfilled, but fulfilled it was, at Yahweh's appointed time. None of Yahweh's words fall to the ground. All that he says will come to pass indeed comes to pass.
Yahweh's Judgement
Upon Ahab's House And Jezebel's Cohorts
2 Kings 10 reads,
10:1Now
Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters, and sent to
Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and to those who brought up
the sons of Ahab, saying, 10:2Now as
soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and
there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and armor; 10:3look you out the best and meet of your
master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s
house. 10:4But they were exceedingly
afraid, and said, Behold, the two kings didn’t stand before him: how then shall
we stand? 10:5He who was over the
household, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those who brought
up the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, and will do all
that you shall bid us; we will not make any man king: you do that which is good
in your eyes.
10:6Then
he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If you be on my side, and
if you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men your master’s sons,
and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king’s sons, being
seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up. 10:7It happened, when the letter came to them, that
they took the king’s sons, and killed them, even seventy persons, and put their
heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezreel. 10:8There came a messenger, and told him,
saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. He said, Lay you them in
two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.
10:9It
happened in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the
people, You are righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and killed
him; but who struck all these? 10:10Know
now that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of Yahweh, which
Yahweh spoke concerning the house of Ahab: for Yahweh has done that which he
spoke by his servant Elijah. 10:11So
Jehu struck all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his
great men, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left him none
remaining. 10:12He arose and
departed, and went to Samaria.
As he was at the shearing-house of the
shepherds in the way, 10:13Jehu met
with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? They
answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah: and we go down to Greet the children
of the king and the children of the queen. 10:14He
said, Take them alive. They took them alive, and killed them at the pit of the
shearing-house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.
10:15When
he was departed there, he lighted on 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
with your heart? Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me your hand. He
gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. 10:16He said, Come with me, and see my zeal
for Yahweh. So they made him ride in his chariot. 10:17When he came to Samaria, he struck all who
remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word
of Yahweh, which he spoke to Elijah.
10:18Jehu
gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little;
but Jehu will serve him much. 10:19Now
therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his
priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal;
whoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtlety, to
the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. 10:20Jehu said, Sanctify a solemn assembly for
Baal. They proclaimed it. 10:21Jehu
sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there
was not a man left that didn’t come. They came into the house of Baal; and the
house of Baal was filled from one end to another. 10:22He said to him who was over the vestry,
Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. He brought them forth
vestments. 10:23Jehu went, and
Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal; and he said to the
worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of
the servants of Yahweh, but the worshippers of Baal only. 10:24They went in to offer sacrifices and burnt
offerings.
Now Jehu had appointed him eighty men outside,
and said, If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape, he who lets
him go, his life shall be for the life of him. 10:25It
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 none
come forth. They struck them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the
captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. 10:26They brought forth the pillars that were
in the house of Baal, and burned them. 10:27They
broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a
latrine, to this day. 10:28Thus Jehu
destroyed Baal out of Israel. 10:29However
from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin,
Jehu didn’t depart from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in
Bethel, and that were in Dan.
10:30Yahweh
said to Jehu, Because you have done well in executing that which is right in my
eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart,
your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. 10:31But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law
of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart: he didn’t depart from the
sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin. 10:32In those days Yahweh began to cut off from
Israel: and Hazael struck them in all the borders of Israel; 10:33from the Jordan eastward, all the land of
Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which
is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. 10:34Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all
that he did, and all his might, aren’t they written in the book of the
chronicles of the kings of Israel? 10:35Jehu
slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria. Jehoahaz his son
reigned in his place. 10:36The time
that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
Through Jehu's hand, Yahweh fulfilled all that he had spoken against the house of Ahab. Not only did Yahweh cut off all of Ahab's male descendants, he also cut off all of his close companions and also cut off all idolaters who worshipped Baal under the patronage of Jezebel. Jehu was very zealous for Yahweh, and for his zeal Yahweh rewarded his house with the kingship of Israel to the fourth generation of his sons.
Whatever Yahweh
Utters Comes To Pass
10:10 notes that nothing of the word of Yahweh falls to the earth. Whatever Yahweh utters to come to pass indeed comes to pass, at its appointed time.
Yahweh's Judgment On
Jezebel's Cohorts Comes In One Day
It should be noted that Yahweh's judgement upon Ahab's house and the idolaters practising their craft under Jezebel's patronage came in one day or period of time. For it was in a short period of time, at the time of Jehu being anointed king over Israel, that all these events took place. This should be instructive to Yah'shuah's servants in the assembly in Thyatira. Jezebel and her cohorts operating among them, practising their prostitution, idolatry and witchcraft among them, together with other evils, will be exterminated in one day or period of time. For Yah'shuah has prophesied that those among them who do not repent he will throw into a bed and into great oppression. Yah'shuah's servants should therefore heed Yah'shuah and not associate with Jezebel and her cohorts. They should do away with them, removing them from within the midst of the assembly in Thyatira. And if they be powerless to do so, they should nevertheless not associate with these wicked ones, and wait upon Yahweh's appointed time for effecting his judgement against them.
Additional Reading
On Elijah's Works And Jezebel's Teachings And Seductions
To learn more about the works of Elijah the prophet, and how to effectively battle against the works of Jezebel, read our publication "Who is the Prophesied Eliyah to Come?" published at http://www.serveyahweh.org/Articles/Eliyah.htm.
To learn more about the teachings and seductions of Jezebel, and how to successfully combat them, read our publication "Fornication (Porneia), Idolatry and Rebellion - A Scriptural Study" published at http://www.serveyahweh.org/Fornication/fornication.htm.
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