Class Notes, 2 Kings 18:1-20:21

2 Kings 18:1-8 (NIV) In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)

5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

• This story is very interesting for at least two points.  One, how are Hezekiah's actions different from other kings, let's focus on the kings of Israel (not Judah) to start?
• Willingness to destroy an icon because it had become an idol shows tremendous courage, strength of conviction, trust in God (to maintain rule), and humility (didn't need to be king if that is what it took -- like Daniel's friends who would someday stand before Nebuchadnezzar)
• Unlike the Kings of Israel, who could not destroy the two golden calves for exactly the same faults

• When the scriptures says "no one was like him," does that include David?
• No, because it is just the kings of Judah, and David was king over all Israel

2 Kings 18:13-15 (NIV) In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: "I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me." The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

• The Assyrian records say that 46 towns and 200,000 people were carried off

• The Old Covenant is based upon a contract which describes blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience.  The New Covenant focuses on eternal rewards so there is no such promise of material blessing for obedience.  It would be more akin to the situation Job was in prior to the law, one cannot know for sure the reasons for things, except of course that evil is the result of man's rebellion.  For believers we do have one promise, that God will work things for good (although the time table is not specified)

• So, what happened?  What are the possibilities?
• Hezekiah did right, but the people continued in their sins
• Hezekiah made a treaty with other nations (Egypt) instead of trusting in God

• A prophecy of Isaiah, probably in the time frame says
• Isa 31:1-3 (NIV)Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, // who rely on horses, // who trust in the multitude of their chariots // and in the great strength of their horsemen, // but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, // or seek help from the Lord. // 2 Yet he too is wise and can bring disaster; // he does not take back his words. // He will rise up against the house of the wicked, // against those who help evildoers. // 3 But the Egyptians are men and not God; // their horses are flesh and not spirit. // When the Lord stretches out his hand, // he who helps will stumble, // he who is helped will fall; // both will perish together.
• Isaiah suggests that the problem may have been one of trust or worldly thinking
• Prov 3:5-6 (NIV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart // and lean not on your own understanding;  // 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, // and he will make your paths straight.

• APPLICATION: What are we trusting in -- our plans or God's plans?

Apparently, the King of Assyria is not satisfied, because a few years later he comes back for more ...

2 Kings 18:19-30 (NIV) The field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: 'This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 20 You say you have strategy and military strength — but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 21 Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 22 And if you say to me, "We are depending on the Lord our God"-isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem"?

23 "'Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses — if you can put riders on them! 24 How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master's officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?  25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.'"

26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall."

27 But the commander replied, "Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the men sitting on the wall — who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine?"

28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, 'The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.'

• Interestingly that Hezekiah's officials were concerned about popular opinion which is contrast to Hezekiah's previous actions
• Maybe there was discontent in Judah over Hezekiah's actions
• Maybe the people misinterpreted the events as a sign of God's displeasure over Hezekiah's previous actions

• I think the thing to notice here is difference between the attitude of the commander and the attitude of Hezekiah (seen in the next group of verses)
• The commander is very proud and arrogant (Hezekiah tears his clothes and puts on sackcloth)
• Almost surely, the commander is lying about God speaking to him, if only because he is not successful.  That would be the definition of a false prophet (Hezekiah lays his feelings before God completely and honestly. Later, Hezekiah makes a point about being completely honest with God about Assyria's claims)
• Also, the commander tells the people not to trust in the Lord, so he would be a false teacher (Hezekiah's prayer shows his trusts)
• The commander appeals to the people (Hezekiah appeals to God)

2 Kings 19:1-8 (NIV) When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 3 They told him, "This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives."

5 When King Hezekiah's officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, "Tell your master, 'This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard — those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.'"

8 When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.

• Two actions occur here, first is a temporary withdrawal

• Second is follow-up letter

2 Kings 19:9-20 (NIV) Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king [of Egypt], was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 "Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivvah?"

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: "O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

17 "It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men's hands. 19 Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God."

• We can really learn a lot from how Hezekiah responds to crisis
• Hezekiah takes the letter to the lord and spreads it out from him
• Hezekiah is completely honest with God in his prayer
• Hezekiah reiterates the qualities an characteristics of God.  Common theme in prayer.  It is not necessarily for God's benefit as it is for our benefit

• For the sake of time we will skip the prophecy of Isaiah and look at the results of God's answer

2 Kings 19:35-37 (NIV) That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning — there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

• This is a historical event, although it is interpreted differently by both the Egyptians and the Assyrians
• 2 Ki 19:35 (Barne's Notes) The Egyptian version of this event recorded in Herodotus is that, during the night, silently and secretly, an innumerable multitude of field-mice spread themselves through the Assyrian host, and gnawed their quivers, bows, and shield-straps, so as to render them useless. When morning broke, the Assyrians fled hastily, and the Egyptians pursuing put a vast number to the sword.
• 2 Ki 19:35. (IVP Bible Background Commentary: OT, 2000) deity wiping out enemy. In one of Ashurbanipal's inscriptions he claims that Erra (the deity representing plague) struck down Uaite (Arab king of Shumuilu) and his army for failing to keep the terms of their treaty agreement.

• The ultimate result is that while Assyria is not completely destroy, its effectiveness and range is severely limited.  Isaiah had prophesied growing your own crops in the third year, and some relative peace  ensues

•  APPLICATION:  This is a story of prayer and of courage to do what is right even when it is not the popular thing

Class Notes, 2 Kings 11:1-17:41

2 Kings 11:1-3, 13-14, 17-18 (NIV) When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. 3 He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

… 13 When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the Lord. 14 She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, "Treason! Treason!"

… 17 Jehoiada then made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord's people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. 18 All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

• What is unusual about's Athaliah's response?
• Two things stand out.  The first is how sin deceives.  How in the world does Athaliah call out "treason" in light of what she did, and almost did to the line of David?  Yet there she is calling out "treason."  It is typical of us, that over time, we begin to forget our actions as sin, and justify to such a point in our own mind, that we even see them as right or righteous.  And then when our sin is called later on for what it really was, we can not identify with truth.  Our heart becomes hardened by our own actions and by time.
• The second thing to note is that while Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel (the Northern Kingdom), apparently Jehoram or Ahaziah (related to Ahab) or Athaliah had introduced or at least promoted it also in Judah (the Southern Kingdom).  Such that a temple of Ball stood in Judah (probably Jerusalem).

• APPLICATION: Sin is very deceptive.  We need to ask God to open our eyes to our own sin

2 Kings 12:6-8, 13-16 (NIV) But by the twenty-third year of King Joash the priests still had not repaired the temple. 7 Therefore King Joash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and asked them, "Why aren't you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple." 8 The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves.

… 13 The money brought into the temple was not spent for making silver basins, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, trumpets or any other articles of gold or silver for the temple of the Lord; 14 it was paid to the workmen, who used it to repair the temple. 15 They did not require an accounting from those to whom they gave the money to pay the workers, because they acted with complete honesty. 16 The money from the guilt offerings and sin offerings was not brought into the temple of the Lord; it belonged to the priests.

• Who failed the first time?
• The religious leaders, priests and Levites
• The spiritual heads

• How did they fail?
• Note that this probably moved the temple expenses from the royal treasury to the freewill offering in the private sector
• Unclear.  No accounting.  Probably spent money on themselves and put a half-hearted effort into upkeep
• Obviously they did not hire any workers

• Who acted nobly?
• The quote -- unspiritual, non-religious workers -- unquote, acted with integrity, and complete the ministry

• APPLICATIONS:  Pastors and Elders and Deacons are not immune to sin because of their position.  Nor do non full-time workers have to be any less spiritual in their actions

2 Kings 13:1-6 (NIV) In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them. 3 So the Lord's anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son.

4 Then Jehoahaz sought the Lord's favor, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. 5 The Lord provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before. 6 But they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit; they continued in them. Also, the Asherah pole remained standing in Samaria.

• Why is the sin of the two golden calves (the sin of Jeroboam) so hard to let go of? 
• I think ultimately it is the importance of power and privilege over obedience.  In a King's mind, to get rid of the two worship centers and return to thrice/yearly worship in Jerusalem would mean the eventual dissolution of his kingdom.  Therefore, because he is not willing to give up that power (or trust God), he is willing to do everything short of it.

• APPLICATION: What sin is it that we don't want to get rid of because it might change our status or life?  Where am I holding back from obedience to God?

2 Kings 17:1-6 (NIV) In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not like the kings of Israel who preceded him.

3 Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser's vassal and had paid him tribute. 4 But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. 5 The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.

• Hoshea was not faithful to God and he was not faithful to Shalmaneser

• Israel
• 209 years
• 20 Kings
• 9 different ruling families
• 7 Kings are assassinated

2 Kings 17:7-24, 33 (NIV) All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8 and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. 10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that provoked the Lord to anger. 12 They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, "You shall not do this."  13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: "Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets."

14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the Lord had forbidden them to do.

16 They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. 17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger.

18 So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, 19 and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had introduced. 20 Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence.

21 When he tore Israel away from the house of David, they made Jeroboam son of Nebat their king. Jeroboam enticed Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit a great sin. 22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them 23 until the Lord removed them from his presence, as he had warned through all his servants the prophets. So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria, and they are still there.

24 The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns.
…

 33 They worshiped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought.

• There are 24 things listed against Israel.  What is the primary reason, and what are some of the other 24? [Adopted from Constable, 2010]

(1) They feared other gods (v. 7; cf. Exod. 20:3; Judg. 6:10).

(2) They adopted Canaanite customs (v. 8; cf. Lev. 18:3; Deut. 18:9).

(3) They adopted customs condemned by the Mosaic Law (v. 8; cf. 16:3; 17:19).

(4) They practiced secret sins (v. 9).

(5) They built pagan high places (v. 9; cf. Deut. 12:2-7, 13-14).

(6) They made many sacred pillars and Asherim (v. 10; cf. Exod. 34:12-14).

(7) They burned incense to other gods (v. 11).

(8) They did evil things that provoked Yahweh (v. 11).

(9) They served idols (v. 12; cf. Exod. 20:4).

(10) They refused to heed God's warnings (vv. 13-14).

(11) They became obstinate (v. 14; cf. Exod. 32:9; 33:3).

(12) They rejected God's statutes (v. 15).

(13) They rejected God's covenant (v. 15; cf. Exod. 24:6-8; Deut. 29:25).

(14) They pursued vanity (v. 15; cf. Deut. 32:21).

(15) They became vain (v. 15).

(16) They followed foreign nations (v. 15; cf. Deut. 12:30-31).

(17) They forsook Yahweh's commandments (v. 16).

125See The New Scofield Reference Bible, p. 446.

2010 Edition Dr. Constable's Notes on 2 Kings 39

(18) They made molten calves (v. 16; cf. Exod. 20:4).

(19) They made an Asherah (v. 16; cf. Exod. 20:4).

(20) They worshipped the stars (v. 16; cf. Deut. 4:15, 19; Amos 5:26).

(21) They served Baal (v. 16).

(22) They practiced child sacrifice (v. 17; cf. Lev. 18:21; Deut. 12:31).

(23) They practiced witchcraft (v. 17; cf. Lev. 19:26; Deut. 18:10-12).

(24) They sold themselves to do evil (v. 17; cf. 21:20).

• Primary sin was the sin of Jeroboam, son of Nebat

• Samaria arises out of this mess

• APPLICATION:  God is very patient.  God gave Israel many chances.  God fulfilled his word.

Class Notes, 2 Kings 9:1-10:36

2 Kings 9:1-13 (NIV) The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead. 2 When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. 3 Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.' Then open the door and run; don't delay!"

4 So the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. 5 When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. "I have a message for you, commander," he said.

"For which of us?" asked Jehu.

"For you, commander," he replied.

6 Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu's head and declared, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anoint you king over the Lord's people Israel. 7 You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the Lord's servants shed by Jezebel. 8 The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel — slave or free. 9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. 10 As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.'" Then he opened the door and ran.

11 When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, "Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?"

"You know the man and the sort of things he says," Jehu replied.

12 "That's not true!" they said. "Tell us."

Jehu said, "Here is what he told me: 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.'"

13 They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, "Jehu is king!"

• This is a fulfillment of a number of belated prophecies?
• Name of Jehu (1 Ki 19:16)
• The destruction of Ahab's house -- 1 Ki 21:21-22, and its delay -- 1 Ki 21:29
• The particular death of Jezebel -- 1 Ki 21:23

• From what I can tell, this is the only anointing of a King of Israel

• This is the fourth royal line (i.e., Jehu's) and will last for four generations.  The three royal lines:
• Jeroboam son of Nebat
• Baasha son of Ahijah
• Ahab son of Omri (Omri was a Army Commander whose father is not mentioned)

• What do you think of Jehu's response to the prophet?
• It is hard to day.  Maybe he was gauging the effect
• Maybe he didn't really believe, although he acted quite quickly (next passage)
• Maybe he was hoping for more time to think about it

• The response of the fellow officers' suggest what?
• They were looking for a reason to revolt

2 Kings 9:14-16 (NIV) So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth Gilead against Hazael king of Aram, 15 but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle with Hazael king of Aram.) Jehu said, "If this is the way you feel, don't let anyone slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel." 16 Then he got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see him.

• Why is Jehu and all the officers in Ramoth Gilead?
• They are protecting it from an attack by Hazael, kin of Aram
• Joram has returned to Jezreel to recover from his wounds.  You have to wonder if the quickness in responding to the news of Jehu as King may have had more to do with the injuries that Joram had received
• Either way, the Army is clearly behind him

• Jehu clamps down on the information (much as Egypt tried to shut down the news and internet recently)

2 Kings 9:17-26 (NIV) When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu's troops approaching, he called out, "I see some troops coming."

"Get a horseman," Joram ordered. "Send him to meet them and ask, 'Do you come in peace?'"

18 The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, "This is what the king says: 'Do you come in peace?'"

"What do you have to do with peace?" Jehu replied. "Fall in behind me."

The lookout reported, "The messenger has reached them, but he isn't coming back."

19 So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, "This is what the king says: 'Do you come in peace?'"

Jehu replied, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me."

20 The lookout reported, "He has reached them, but he isn't coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi — he drives like a madman."

21 "Hitch up my chariot," Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw Jehu he asked, "Have you come in peace, Jehu?"

"How can there be peace," Jehu replied, "as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?"

23 Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, "Treachery, Ahaziah!"

24 Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. 25 Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, "Pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were riding together in chariots behind Ahab his father when the Lord made this prophecy about him: 26 'Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the Lord.' Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot, in accordance with the word of the Lord."

• The question "do you come in peace" is probably in reference to the battle, i.e., "do you come to tell us that there is peace?"
• Jehu's response could also be interpreted as "don't worry" and "I will take the information to the king" -- otherwise, I doubt the messengers would have obeyed

• The King comes out, once someone identifies the troops as Jehu.  He is probably not wearing any armor.  He just wants to know if the battle is over
• Jehu easily kills him by arrow, since he was probably not even wearing armor

2 Kings 9:27-37 (NIV) When Ahaziah king of Judah saw what had happened, he fled up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him, shouting, "Kill him too!" They wounded him in his chariot on the way up to Gur near Ibleam, but he escaped to Megiddo and died there. 28 His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in his tomb in the City of David. 29 (In the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.)

30 Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window. 31 As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, "Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?"

32 He looked up at the window and called out, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. 33 "Throw her down!" Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.

34 Jehu went in and ate and drank. "Take care of that cursed woman," he said, "and bury her, for she was a king's daughter." 35 But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands. 36 They went back and told Jehu, who said, "This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh.  37 Jezebel's body will be like refuse on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, 'This is Jezebel.'"

• Why does Ahaziah, King of Judah, die?
• Ahaziah is actually a grandson of Ahab (through the Mother's side)
• He did not follow his father's (Jehoshaphat) footsteps.  He was an evil King in God's eyes.  So God uses Jehu to execute judgment all around
• He does receive a burial due to his relationship to his father

• Jehu is ruthless
• 2 Kings 10:6-8 describes the death of 70 sons of Ahab
• 2 Kings 10:11-14,17 Jehu kills relatives of Ahaziah, 42 of them, and relatives of Ahab
• 2 Kings 10:18-29 Jehu mercilessly kills worshippers of Baal and eliminates Baal worship in Israel

2 Kings 10:28-31 (NIV) So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit — the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.

30 The Lord said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation." 31 Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.

• One has to wonder if there were other ways for Jehu to accomplish what he did

• Also, as committed as Jehu was to his obedience to God, why did he not get rid of the golden calves?
• The golden calves were the King of Israel's hold on the people

• APPLICATION: What do welearn from a passage like this?
• God's ultimately will judge sin
• We need to be aggressive in dealing with our own sin
• We need to act quickly when God speaks to us