2Ki 10:1 And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying,
2Ki 10:2 Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;
2Ki 10:3 Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.
2Ki 10:4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?
2Ki 10:5 And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.
2Ki 10:6 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.
2Ki 10:7 And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.
2Ki 10:8 And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.
etc.
Sermon Transcript
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and we're going to be continuing to speak about this man called Jehu. So we're in 2 Kings 10. I'm not going to read the whole chapter. Again, these are long chapters at the moment in the book of 2 Kings. We won't read it all. I will make reference to the end of the chapter briefly, but we'll read down to verse 28, which is still quite a long reading, but I'm sure you're up for it and you will be able to listen to the story as it unfolds in these verses from the history of the kings of Israel. So 2 Kings chapter 10 and verse 1. This is the word of the Lord.
And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent to Samaria unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying, Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour, look even out the best and meatest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.
But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him. How then shall we stand? And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us. We will not make any king. Do thou that which is good in thine eyes.'
Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye 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, which brought them up. And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jezreel. And there came a messenger and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning. And it came to pass in the morning that he went out and stood and said to all the people, Ye be righteous.
Behold, I conspired against my master and slew him. But who slew all these? Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab. For the Lord hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah. So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolk, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.
And he arose and departed and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing-house in the way, Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah, and we go to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen. And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing-house, even two and forty men, neither left he any of them.
And when he was departed thence he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him. And he saluted him and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand.' And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him in the chariot. And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. So they made him ride in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the Lord, which he spake, which he spake to Elijah. And Jehu gathered all the people together and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu shall serve him much. Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests.
Let none be wanting, for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal. Whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.
And Jehu sent through all Israel. And all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came to the house of Baal. And the house of Baal was full from one end to another. And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal.
And he brought them forth vestments. And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rehab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the Lord, but the worshippers of Baal only. And when they went in to offer sacrifice and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him. And it came to pass, 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 slay them, let none come forth.
And they smote 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. and they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal and burned them. And they break down the image of Baal, and break down the house of Baal, and made it a draft house unto this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
Amen. May the Lord bless to us this reading from his word. We previously saw how Jehu a general in the army of Israel, was anointed by God to be the next king of Israel. And how he travelled at once to Jezreel, where Jehoram, the king of Israel, was recovering after a battle, and slew him there, and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, with him. It was a bold and daring coup It was a blow against the ruling family of Ahab, the royal house of Israel for many years. Jehu slew Jezebel, the queen mother, as well. She was thrown from a window and eaten by dogs.
And then he turned his attention to Samaria. Now Samaria was the capital city of the land of Israel. And it was here that 70 sons of Jehoram had houses. Jehu was commissioned by God to bring punishment on the house of Ahab for its sin. And this he did, just as Elijah foretold he would. and we learn from our chapter, from our verses today that from Jezreel which was a second city, as it were, or a subsidiary city to Samaria, from Jezreel, Jehu sent letters to the leading men of Samaria. And he announced what he had done to Jehoram and Ahaziah.
He told them, frankly, that he had killed both these kings. And he told the men of the city to choose one of Jehoram's sons to be king in his place, and to come out and meet him in battle. But the men of Samaria had no stomach for that. They had no desire to do that. They were weak men and they told one another that if Jehu had already killed two kings, then how could they possibly stand against him? I don't know if they realised that Jehu had actually killed the two men when he surprised them unarmed. But that didn't seem to matter. These men in Samaria replied to Jehu's letter that they would be Jehu's servants and they would do whatever he asked. Well, what he asked was ruthless.
What he requested was the heads of the 70 sons of Jehoram. And they were to be brought to him in Jezreel. And we read in verse seven, when the letter came to the great men of Samaria, they immediately took the king's sons. Now this probably, let me just explain a little bit, this probably meant sons and grandsons and perhaps even cousins because often the whole of a family like that would be called the king's sons or the king's house. So although there are 70 people here, they were not all necessarily the immediate sons of Jehoram. Be that as it may, whether they were all sons or whether there were grandsons and cousins involved, these men slew all 70 of them, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jezreel.
Jehu was devious, but he was also smart. And he had the heads of these men displayed in the entrance of the city by the city gate and he used the slaying of these 70 sons to reinforce his leadership in Jezreel. Perhaps the people of Jezreel were thinking, if the people of Samaria stand against Jehu, then we will rise up against him as well, because after all, he was the rebel who had killed their king. but he used the slaying of these 70 sons to reinforce his leadership. He said to the inhabitants of Jezreel, it's true, I killed your king, but look what the great men of Samaria have done.
What he didn't tell them was that he had ordered them by letter to do so. And thus, within a very short period of time, he had destroyed the family of Ahab. He had killed Jezebel, the Queen Mother, he had killed Jehoram, Ahab's son, and he had killed 70 of his sons. As he went towards Samaria, we're told that he also slew 42 more distant relatives, brethren of Ahaziah, king of Judah, whom he encountered on the road to Samaria as he was traveling there. It does appear as if the Lord made a whole load of different providencies to come together at this time. The rebellion of Jehu and the overthrow of the house of Ahab. was total and complete. And then he continued on his way to Samaria in order to formalize and claim the throne.
In the way he met a man, a man who lived in a tent. He was a nomad, a Kenite. But he was a man with a reputation for wisdom and strategy. And this was Jehonadab, son of Rechab. Now the Rechabites were known for being faithful to the Lord. And the two men greeted each other. And Jehu, again revealing his own shrewd wisdom, invited Jehonadab to join him in his chariot as he rode to Samaria. Jehu had a real grasp of the importance of optics. With Jehonadab by his side, Jehu had a greater appearance of strength and power when he rode into Samaria.
When they arrived there at once, the two men busied themselves in organising a huge celebration for Baal, which we might think is a little bit odd, but then we're told that this was all done subtly. They wanted a celebration for this idol god of Ahab and Jezebel. Baalism still was rife in Israel. And it was Jehu's intention at Elisha's instigation to rid it from the country in one single strike. So Jehu pretended that he wanted to encourage Baal worship.
And he ordered a great feast and sacrifice to take place. He called all the priests and followers of Baal to the gathering in the temple of Baal in Samaria. He said that anyone who didn't attend would be put to death. And so lots of people turned up.
And on the pretext that none of the Lord's followers were to be granted access and pollute the offering, Jehu ensured that only Baal worshippers were present in the temple. Everyone else was excluded. These men were dressed in their ritual garments. which was probably to encourage their worship, but it also had the effect of making them easy to identify. And when the sacrifice was over, Jehu gave command for 80 armed men to seal the doors of the temple and to go through all its rooms, slaying all the followers and priests of Baal. In a short time, all of them were dead and the temple of Baal was destroyed and turned into a city sewer. It was made into a toilet.
So that Jehu, with a blend of guile and intimidation, deceit and brutal violence, was successful in delivering God's promised judgment on the wicked house of Ahab and delivering Israel from idolatry, the idol worship of Baal at least for a time. However, what we discover is that despite Jehu's self-proclaimed zeal for the Lord, his was not a good reign. He ignored the laws of God. He walked in the ways of the wicked kings. He tolerated the worship of the golden calves at Dan and Bethel. These images that had been raised up long ago to stop the tribes of Israel going to the temple in Jerusalem.
And what we read is that from this time, the lands of Israel began to be seized bit by bit by their neighboring enemies. The remainder of this chapter tells us that Jehu reigned in Israel for 28 years. It was a long reign in the history of the kings of Israel, but not one in which anything useful was achieved beyond these initial acts of divine judgment. When he died, he was buried in Samaria.
Here are a couple of applications I want to just leave with you. First one is this. No doubt Jehu was inspired to act as he did by the anointing he received from Elisha's young prophet. You'll remember how Elisha sent this prophet to the generals during this battle with the king of Syria, and he told Jehu that he would be king.
And yet, Although Jehu served God's purposes of divine retribution on the house of Ahab for all that king's wickedness, yet there was no true spiritual change in Jehu's life. Jehu was an instrument. Jehu was a tool in God's hand to serve his purposes. but he never trusted the Lord. He never obtained forgiveness for sins or peace with God personally. He said to Jehonadab, that Kenai, that man who lived in tents that we spoke about, he said to him, come with me and see my zeal for the Lord. But his zeal wasn't spiritual. His zeal was self-promoting. His zeal was self-serving.
And many people have a nominal faith. They have a self-serving religion, and they use their religion to serve their own desires and promote their own cause. Their religion functions like a kind of insurance policy for heaven. They have it somewhere in their lives. They don't give it too much thought, but they kind of bank on it as being sufficient to see them through life and into heaven when push comes to shove.
You know, men and women and boys and girls can be religious but not be saved. They can be outwardly zealous for the Lord but still in their sins. To be a follower of the Lord is more than just attending church and being part of a religious system. We need to be a new creature in Christ. We need to be born again from above. We need to be spiritually alive and trusting in the death and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus for our salvation. Do not I urge you, do not be content to be a religious person when you need to be saved. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And here's a second point.
Did you notice how often we are told that Jehu's actions were foretold by the prophet Elijah? When he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him according to the saying of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah."
So that this passage clearly shows the Lord's judgment of sin. This was God's judgment on Ahab's sin. The law had said God would by no means clear the guilty, but visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon children's children unto the third and fourth generations. The scriptures could not be clearer, and Ahab had brought this terrible judgment down on himself and his family because of his wickedness before the Lord.
God must judge sin and he will. And that's what this passage ought to shout out to us. God must judge sin and he will. But the Bible also tells us that there is a way of escape. Out of his love for his people, our God took the sins of his elect and laid them to the account of his own son, Jesus Christ. He opened a door of salvation that sinners like you and me can enter in and be saved.
So that while we learn of the judgment of God in scripture, let us use that hearing of judgment to remind ourselves that there is a way of escape, a way of salvation, and that the Saviour is the Lord Jesus Christ alone. And then lastly, one more point. These Old Testament narratives remind us all that the Lord is in control of events and of the outcome of events in this world.
When we are young, it's easy to be scared. It's easy to be afraid that the so-called adults who are supposed to be running the show don't know what they're doing. And we all might end up with some nuclear holocaust or environmental catastrophe when everything gets out of control. Well, I want to say to you today, don't be afraid.
Trusting the Lord means not only trusting Him for cleansing of sin and eternal life, but trusting Him to take care of us, to look after us, and to bring us safely home to heaven. Believers in the Lord Jesus are the most happy people in this world, the most blessed people in this world, because we trust God's promises and our faith brings us peace and confidence and eternal hope. None of us know what a day will bring. None of us know what troubles we will have to face in this life or what lies ahead for us.
But all who trust the Lord can trust Him with a sure knowledge that He will never leave us or forsake us. He is trustworthy. He is loving and He is kind. In life and in death, He will take care of us And it is my prayer today that you will find the Lord faithful and trust in Him to the saving of your precious soul. Amen.
About Peter L. Meney
Peter L. Meney is Pastor of New Focus Church Online (http://www.newfocus.church); Editor of New Focus Magazine (http://www.go-newfocus.co.uk); and Publisher of Go Publications which includes titles by Don Fortner and George M. Ella. You may reach Peter via email at peter@go-newfocus.co.uk or from the New Focus Church website. Complete church services are broadcast weekly on YouTube @NewFocusChurchOnline.
Pristine Grace functions as a digital library of preaching and teaching from many different men and ministries. I maintain a broad collection for research, study, and listening, and the presence of any preacher or message here should not be taken as a blanket endorsement of every doctrinal position expressed.
I publish my own convictions openly and without hesitation throughout this site and in my own preaching and writing. This archive is not a denominational clearinghouse. My aim in maintaining it is to preserve historic and contemporary preaching, encourage careful study, and above all direct readers and listeners to the person and work of Christ.
Brandan Kraft
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I spent the majority of my adult life building something I didn't know had a name. It started with the Scriptures and a lot of late nights. It ended with one sentence that generates every theological position I hold, from the nature of God to the nature of heaven and hell, without contradiction. One sentence. Thirty chapters. Sixteen appendices. And if you accept the sentence, everything else follows.
Most systematic theologies start with a list of doctrines and work through them one by one. This book starts with an ontological claim - that everything that exists is a thought in the mind of God - and derives everything from that single proposition. This is not a rearrangement of existing theology. This is a paradigm shift. Since Augustine imported Plato's metaphysics into the church in the fourth century, every major system of Christian theology has been built on a foundation the Scriptures never laid. This book identifies that foundation, names it, traces its influence across sixteen centuries, and replaces it with an ontology derived from Scripture alone. If the claim holds, this is the most significant shift in the theological starting point since Augustine. And I believe it holds.
This is not a devotional. This is not a commentary. This is a systematic theology built from the ground up by a computer programmer with no seminary degree, no denominational backing, and no one's permission. It uses the vocabulary of information theory, computer science, and quantum physics to describe realities that traditional theological language has never been able to reach. If you are a scientist who suspects that information is fundamental to reality but can't bring yourself to call it God, this book speaks your language. If you are a sovereign grace believer looking for a system that follows the logic all the way, this book does that. And if you have been told that the sharpest doctrine produces the coldest heart, this book ends with the widest arms you have ever seen in a Reformed theology.
The digital edition is free. The truth doesn't come with a price tag. - Brandan Kraft
Where this book stands in the tradition
4th century BC
Plato
Idealism — forms over particulars
The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
“Everything that exists is a thought in the mind of God, sustained by His will, authored by His purpose, and held together by personal covenants of love.”
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