With the death of Ben-hadad in Damascus things were naturally a little chaotic before Hazael could assert full control from the throne. Taking advantage of the turmoil, Jehoram of Israel managed to re-take Ramoth-gilead. He persuaded the new king of Judah, Ahaziah, to join him. While they succeeded, both were injured in battle when Hazael counter-attacked from Damascus (2 Kings 8:28-29). They managed to hold the city, though. Jehoram was worse off, and Ahaziah came to visit him recovering in the summer palace at Jezreel. The timing was perfect for a move of God's hand.
2 Chronicles 22:1-9 -- The last lesson saw the end of Jehoram of Judah, much to everyone's relief. His youngest son, Ahaziah, was the sole survivor of the Arabian raid on Jerusalem. The elders made him king, which may indicate some dispute over succession. We note this passage says he was 42, but 2 Kings 8 makes him 22, reminding us numerical corruption is frequent in Hebrew texts. Given the context, the younger age is more likely. His choice to follow the evil ways of his father and mother justified God giving him one year on the throne, and not a full year at that. He had chosen to continue using the services of the Omride counselors his father had brought into Jerusalem. After the battle at Ramoth-gilead, Jehoram retired to the palace in Jezreel, where his young newphew, Ahaziah, came to see him. What follows received expanded treatment in 2 Kings 9.
2 Kings 9:1-10 -- Elisha sent one of his students to handle the next task. Recall that Elijah had already once anointed Jehu to destroy the Omride Dynasty and become of King of Israel (1 Kings 19:16ff) some 24 years earlier. This reaffirmation of that anointing was to stir immediate action. Jehu had been left in command of the garrison occupying the recently re-taken Ramoth-gilead. The student prophet was told to do the act, then flee immediately without bothering to close the door as he went out.
Upon arriving at the garrison headquarters, the young prophet asked to see the commander in private for a message from Jehovah. Confirming it was for the commander himself, they went inside the private quarters. After the ceremonial pouring of oil on the Jehu's head, the student prophesied that God Himself had anointed him King of Israel. He was chosen to avenge the murder of His prophets at the hand of Ahab and Jezebel. No living male was to escape; the entire extended family was to meet the same fate as that of Jeroboam and Baasha. Finally, Jezebel was to be left for dog food. Then the young prophet fled.
9:11-13 -- As Jehu came down the stairs to the common area, his subordinates were waiting with baited breath. Having seen the student flee, they asked what the "madman" had to say. He played it off as something they had staged. They would have none of it, and insisted he divulge what was obviously something important and unknown to them. When he told them about being anointed King of Israel, they seized the moment and proclaimed their support. This was done in the customary fashion, where they laid their garments for him to walk on, and blew shofars to draw attention to the fact, shouting in the streets that all should now join the acclamation.
9:14-16 -- Jehu was far from arrogant, but quite a man of action. His orders were based on the will of the people. That is, if they were going to make him king, there were certain things that went with that. It was well known Jehoram, like any good king, and especially a son of Ahab, kept spies all over his realm. Jehu commanded the gates of the city closed to all civilian traffic so that none of those spies slipped out to report the rebellion. Then he left himself with a company of trusted aides in heavy battle chariots for Jezreel.
9:17-20 -- We are told Jehu lost no time in going straight to the summer palace at Jezreel. He drove his chariot like a madman. The watchman in the tower saw him afar off, coursing the wide flat valley of Jezreel. Yelling down to his superior, he described the rapidly approaching company of chariots. Having just come from a battle at Ramoth-gilead, the king was concerned what this might be. A single chariot would be a messenger almost certainly signaling new trouble there. A whole company made him uneasy, and he sent a light chariot of his own to meet the approaching group to see what was afoot. When the messenger delivered his request for news, Jehu responded it didn't matter, and ordered the charioteer to follow in his train. We see here that Jehu was obviously quite popular and influential in the military services of Israel, for the messenger obeyed, probably aware of what it all meant. The tower watch reported what he saw and another messenger followed, again enlisted in the new order of things. Upon seeing this, the watchman noted by now he could tell it was Jehu in the lead.
9:21-26 -- Jehoram knew there was in trouble, but not what kind. He ordered his own chariot readied. Both kings went out in their chariots and confronted Jehu on the garden plot Ahab had taken from Naboth. When he greeted Jehu, his question was more than just the polite, "Shalom!" It was a genuine question as to what was the situation for the kingdom. Jehu's response was to bluntly declare there could be no "shalom" so long as the Queen Mother Jezebel was alive and active. With a shout of warning to Ahaziah treachery was afoot, Jehoram turned and fled. Jehu had an arrow ready and drew his bow full length; the arrow struck Jehoram square in the back and pierced his heart. With no driver, the chariot halted. Jehu, recalling the message from Jehovah condemning Ahab for taking Naboth's vineyard, ordered his captain Bidkar to dump the body in that plot of land. This would fulfill the prophecy of blood for blood on that soil.
9:27-29 -- It was clear the idea was to exterminate every relative of Ahab. This branch of the House of David had become completely intertwined with the House of Omri. As a grandson of Ahab, Ahaziah fled, and the story is a little confused at first between the texts in Kings and Chronicles. After fleeing the execution of his uncle Jehoram outside Jezreel, he headed south to Samaria. The young king had a good head start, as he had ducked behind the garden house to avoid being an easy target. Ahaziah hid among the nobles in the Israeli capital, but Jehu's troops found him. They dragged him back to Jehu, and the two met outside Ibleam, about halfway between the two royal cities of Jezreel and Samaria. There the road climbed steeply to the City of Ibleam, and it was where Jehu ordered one of his soldiers to shoot Ahaziah with an arrow while he stood in his chariot, same as Jehoram. It was not immediately fatal, and he fled to the fortress at Megiddo. It was there he died sometime later. His body was returned to Jerusalem for burial.
9:30-37 -- There's no doubt Jezebel was quite a bit younger than Ahab when they were married. We aren't certain of Jehoram's age when Jehu killed him, but it seems Jehu the usurper was a good bit older, having served as an adult under Ahab. Thus, Jezebel may well have been a bit younger than Jehu, and certainly no older. For her to pretend to entice him by her beauty to let her live was not unreasonable. Calling to him from the top floor window of the palace near the gate, she attempted to stop him by reminding him that Zimri, a century before, had committed regicide and lived but a week or so. She pretended to care about Jehu's future. He called out to the servants and asked if any supported him. A handful of eunuchs, male servants committed to serving in the royal harem, signaled readiness to give him their allegiance. He ordered them to throw Jezebel out the window. He was positioned on the pavement just below the window, and her impact on the pavement splattered blood everywhere. He immediately turned his horses to trample her body. By now the entire palace serving staff were aware of the new order of things, and served him as king. After his first royal meal in the summer palace, he ordered a proper burial for Jezebel as royal family. When the servants reported finding only a few fragments, he remarked it was according to the prophecy of the student of Elisha. The parts they found were symbolic: she was so evil, even scavenging dogs wouldn't eat some parts. The head in ancient times was anointed as the place of the mind and memory, the hands as symbols of power and action, and feet as taking the path to which one was committed.
10:1-8 -- Eventually Jehu went down to Samaria to make a clean sweep. First, he gave the city elders a chance to decide whether they would accept him as king. He sent a letter instructing them to decide who should succeed Jehoram so that they could rally around him if they intended to resist Jehu. They wrote back asking what they could do to indicate their capitulation. As any good king, Ahab had parceled his numerous sons out to be raised by trusted noblemen. This kept the lesser sons out of the heir's way, but insured they would be trained for any royal service. It was a mark of honor to the noble families, and served to enhance their loyalty by giving them greater prestige. Jehu told the city leaders he wanted the seventy surviving sons of Ahab beheaded. As proof, they were to deliver those heads to him by the same time the next day. When those heads were delivered, he had then piled in two heaps on either side of the gate of Jezreel.
10:9-11 -- The next morning, Jehu called together the local leaders and servants of the Court. Such an assembly was normally held in the public square inside the city gates. With the two piles of rotting heads as a backdrop, he gave a speech. First, he told the people something equivalent to, "You be the judge." He freely admitted conspiring to usurp the throne by murdering the king, but disavowed direct responsibility for the execution of the surviving Omrides. He spoke of how this was all according to the Word of God. Thus, the continued executions would be the will of both God and the people. Jehu slaughtered everyone close to the former royal household.
10:12-14 -- Somewhere on the way between Jezreel and Samaria was a large sheep shearing floor with a building for storing the wool. At this place, Jehu encountered a large group of important-looking folks. When asked, they revealed they were first cousins of Ahaziah, whose body had not yet returned from Megiddo. Thus, they had no idea what was going on. He suddenly ordered his troops to capture them. They were trooped down to the well, away from the road, where all 42 men were slaughtered. This represents the entire surviving male population of the royal household in Judah, with a few exceptions.
10:15-17 -- A relative of Moses had joined him during the Exodus. These folks were called Kenites. One branch of the family had been living far to the north in Hamath for a time, and were adopted into the Tribe of Judah somewhat. Scribes by profession, they retained their nomadic lifestyle. The head of the family at one point was named Rechab, and he had formalized their unique identity. He gave orders that they should ever live in tents, never drink wine, and always provide refuge to those wounded and sick. It was one of their numbers who had welcomed Sisera during the judgeship of Deborah (Judges 4:14ff). On the way to Samaria, Jehu met one of their leaders named Jehonadab. This Kenite would have been a major figure in opposition to the Omride dynasty, faithful to Jehovah. Jehu asked if Jehonadab approved of this purge, and implied he wanted to forge a political alliance. Jehonadab accepted, and joined Jehu in his chariot. Entering Samaria, this was an unmistakable signal to all. Thus, the executions in Samaria that followed gained a far greater credence by the old opposition party. It was indeed a fulfillment of Jehovah's command.
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Ed Hurst
05 March 2005
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