Okay, I'm taking the title for
the message from verse 13 verse 13 They hasted then they hasted
and took every man his garment that is these band of captains
that were with Jehu and put it under him on the top of the stairs
and and blew with the trumpet saying, and here's the title,
J. Hugh is king. J. Hugh Raynor. J. Hugh is king. He is king because God made him
king. They didn't have a campaign. They didn't cast any votes. He
wasn't king by any democratic process. He was king, made so
by a most unusual decree of God. Now these two chapters, 2 Kings
9 and 2 Kings 10, they tell us much about the calling, the anointing,
the courage, and the victories of this man named Jehu. His name means Jehovah is Jehovah
is not he will be he is Jehovah is in many ways In many ways,
Jehu, it almost sounds like Jesus, doesn't it? In many ways, Jehu
is a type, a personal type of the Lord Jesus Christ as he is
the anointed, decreed king in Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ
said this, except you believe that I am not I will be, not
I might be, except that you believe that I am, you shall die in your
sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
great I am that I am. Jehovah is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the eternal God. The Lord Jesus Christ is also
called, as Jehu here is called, captain the captain notice verse
the last part of verse 5 and he said to thee old captain this
message is to thee old captain Jehu and the Lord Jesus Christ
now don't turn I'll just read it to you because we're most
familiar with this scripture in Hebrews chapter 2 the Lord
Jesus Christ is called and Verse 10, for it became him for whom
are all things. and by whom are all things, and
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their
salvation perfect through suffering. For both he that sanctifieth
and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he's
not ashamed to call them brethren, the Lord Jesus Christ." He is
the captain of our salvation who's bringing many sons unto
glory. The Lord Jesus Christ has also,
like Jehu, only in a much more manifold and abundant way, the
Lord Jesus Christ has also won many victories for us over all
of our spiritual enemies. And that's what we see in Jehu.
Jehu lined up everybody that was opposed to God and killed
every one of them. He put an end to all of God,
the whole house of Ahab, all of his sons. And Ahaziah, he
got in the way and he died too by the decree of God. And the
Lord Jesus Christ has won all our victories for us over all
our spiritual enemies. You remember in Revelation chapter
6 verse 2 where it says, he went forth conquering and to conquer. And then the apostle Paul said,
thanks be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ. He has won the victory over sin
in that he put it away. He's won the victory over death.
He said, I'm he that liveth and was dead. Behold, I'm alive forevermore. He's won the victory over Satan,
over death, hell, and the grave. The Lord Jesus Christ, like Jehu,
did the will of God in executing the Lord's purpose. Jehu did. Remember our Lord said, my meat
is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. Jehu was of the same mind. God gave him a command and he
went about to execute that command and he didn't fail. The Lord
said, the Lord Jesus Christ declared, I finished the work you gave
me to do. But now, J.U. is not a perfect
picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, and no mere man can be. Now,
David, King David was a fit picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, but
he wasn't a perfect picture, was he? David committed adultery,
and sin, yet David in that type and role as the king of Israel,
a man after God's own heart, he too was a type of the Lord
in his kingship. Jehu was made king by God's decree
but he was not a perfect picture and no mere man can be. Now,
here's what got me and I just turned to 2 Kings 10 And when I was reading through
this, I was so encouraged and so thrilled and so just, man,
I was thinking, my Jahiel, what a servant, what a man, and he
was. But now listen to this. 2 Kings 10 verse 29, how be it? Uh-oh. How be it? Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam,
and the sins of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed
not after them to wit. You remember the golden calves
in Bethel and in Dan? He tried to approach God through
these golden camps. And the Lord said unto Jehu,
because that was done well in executing that which is right
in my eyes, and as done to the house of Ahab according to all
that was in mine heart, thy children, thy children of the fourth generation
shall sit on the throne of Israel. God did give him a blessing.
But look at verse 31, but J.U. took no heed to walk in the law
of the Lord God of Israel with all of his heart. The Lord used
him, but did not change his heart. Is that right? Yes it is. But J.U. took no heed to walk
in the law of the Lord. You know when I first read that,
you know what I did? I took my pencil and I put a question mark
there. I sat back in my chair and I
thought... But Jehu took no heed, observed
not to walk in the law of the Lord God with all his heart. He departed not from the sins
of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin. Now God caused him to
reign for 28 years. And the Lord used this man in
a mighty way. How be it? You see, he was not
a perfect picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now he is, in the
sense that he's the king in Israel, but he had his downfall, didn't
he? He had his sin, didn't he? On the other hand, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the perfect man. He's the perfect man. He had
no downfall. He did walk before God with all
of His heart, mind, soul, and strength. He did love God Almighty,
His Father, with a perfect heart. He did perfectly the will of
God. The Lord Jesus Christ had no
sin, did no sin, and knew no sin. He was manifested to take
away our sin, but in Him is no sin. Aren't you glad we have
a perfect King? Jehu is a picture, but he's not
a perfect picture. But the Lord Jesus Christ, on
the other hand, is a perfect man who perfectly did the will
of God and who accomplished our salvation, who did walk before
the Lord in absolute perfection and holiness. Now the king of
Israel, this man by the name of Joram, King of Israel, he's
Ahab's son and he's Jezebel's son. He was very concerned about
having peace with Jehu. Evidently he knew something was
wrong because when Jehu approached the city, Joram sent out messengers
repeatedly to Jehu when he was approaching Jezreel and asked
if Jehu was coming in peace. Little did he know that the Lord
had anointed Jehu to be his executioner. When he got in his chariot and
rode out, he said, ìHey, thatís old Jehu. Heís one of my captains. Heís one of my soldiers.î Little did he know that the Lord
had raised him up to put an end to Joram. And then, to Jerome's
mother Jezebel, the Lord had anointed Jehu to take his just
vengeance against the house of Ahab and Jezebel and his whole
family, and his whole family, which Jehu does quickly, efficiently,
justly, to the glory of God. This was all according to the
prophecy of God. We'll turn and look at this.
You remember this was all according to the prophecy of God that would
come to pass at the hand of Haziel, king of Syria, and at the hand
of Jehu. Now take your Bible and turn
back to 1 Kings 19. Elijah said this in 1 Kings 19, Verse 15, 1st King 19, 15. The
Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness
of Damascus, and when thou comest, anoint Haziel to be king over
Syria, and Jehu the son of Nimshah shalt thou anoint to be king
over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah shalt
thou anoint to be prophet in thy room and it shall come to
pass it shall come to pass that him
that escapeth the sword of Haziel and that's what Joram did Joram,
if you read the last part of 2 Kings 8, he was wounded in
the battle, but he escaped. He escaped the sword of Hazael,
but Jehu will slay him. And him that escaped with the
sword of Jehu, Elisha will slay him. Yet have I left me 7,000
in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and
every mouth which hath not kissed him." Remember Elijah said, I'm
the only one left? No, you're not. No, you're not. No, you're not. Now, back to
the text. The wheel, or the wheels of the
Lord's providence, turns slowly. But be sure you understand, it
turns surely. Surely. The wages of sin is death. The soul that sins shall die. Now I do want you to turn to
this one, turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Joram and Jezebel, they thought they
probably were home free. Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10 verse
30. For we know him that hath said,
Vengeance belongs unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And
again, the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of a living God." In Romans 10, we read similar
words. Vengeance is mine, I will repay,
saith the Lord. You remember the verse from Isaiah
3. Say ye to the righteous, it shall
be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their doing,
but woe unto the wicked that shall be ill with him, for the
reward of his hand shall be given him." Now as was the unusual
case of installing Haziel as the king of Syria when Ben-Hadad
was killed, so too is the unusual case of the anointing of Jehu
king in Israel. Both were ordained of God. Both
were ordained of God to carry out His eternal vengeance and
His holy purpose. Both Hazael and Jehu were men
that were designed to be the instruments of God, God's justice
in punishing and destroying the house of Ahab and Jezebel. Now don't turn, let me just read
this to you because you're familiar with this scripture, I refer
to it very often. In Isaiah 46, my counsel shall stand, verse
10, and I'll do all my pleasure, calling a ravenous bird from
the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country,
yea, I've spoken it, I'll bring it to pass. I purposed it. I will do it, saith the Lord."
Now, we're going to see later on that the Lord raises up another
man by the name of Cyrus. Cyrus is a king in Persia, and
he raises that man up to set Israel free after 70 years of
captivity. The point I'm trying to make
is God's purpose and decree shall be done. Jehu, this man we're
reading about, is in the service of his master Joram, king of
Israel, but he's called by a higher master. Look at verse 7. 2 Kings
9 verse 7, Thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master. You see he is a captain under
this king Joram. He is in the service of his master
but he is called by a higher master that I may avenge the
blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants
of the Lord at the hand of Jezebel. the Lord called him to this service. Now, having said that and given
that introduction, which is rather lengthy, in verses 1 down through
verse 10, we see this, Elijah, or Elisha rather, 2 Kings 9,
look at verse 1, Elisha the prophet Elisha the prophet called one
of the children of the prophets and said to him, gird up thy
loins, take this box of oil in thy hand, go to Ramoth Gilead,
when thou comest hither, look out there, Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat,
the son of Nimsha, go in and make him arise from among the
brethren and carry him into a secret place into an inner chamber,
then take the box of oil, pour it on his head, and say, Thus
saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open
the door, and flee, and tarry not." He didn't stand there begging,
won't you let God make you king? Declare your message, and flee.
And I'll take care of the rest. Elisha sends one of the young
prophets in a secret way to anoint Jehu as the king. And when this happens, remember
both Israel and Judah already have kings. Joram is king in
Israel. Ahaziah is king in Judah. This would have been considered
an act of treason, would it not? to install a new king while there's
already a king in that kingdom? But we know this, whatever God
does, it's right, isn't it? Whenever he does it, it's right.
This also reminded me of this. This is very similar to Samuel,
turn to 1 Samuel 16. This is also very similar to
what happened when David was anointed king. in Israel. You remember? First Samuel 16. You remember who was already
king? When God told Samuel to go down
to the house of Jesse and anoint David as king? Saul was already
the king in Israel. First Samuel 16, 13. Then Samuel
took the horn of oil, anointed him in the midst of his brethren,
and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David that day. Forward.
So Samuel rose up And he too, he did the Lord's bidding, anointed
the king, and he rose up and left, went back to Ramon. Similar
to what the young prophet did here in our story. This anointing
is the Lord's good pleasure to appoint whom he will and use
that man as it serves his own eternal purpose. You remember
many times in scripture we've read this over and over. Whatsoever
the Lord please, that's what he does in heaven, earth, seas,
and all deep places. He worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will. So, the young prophet goes down
there and he anoints Jehu to be king. But I think about, when
I think about anointing, I think about this, I think about the
anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ as our King. In the fullness
of time, God sent forth His Son made of a woman, made under the
law to redeem them that were under the law. The Lord Jesus
Christ as a God-man mediator was anointed as King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. We read that just a moment ago,
you remember? In Psalm 45, thou lovest righteousness,
hatest wickedness, therefore God thy God hath anointed thee
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." The Lord Jesus
Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. He's the anointed king
to rule and reign over us in absolute righteousness and absolute
perfection. The Lord Jesus Christ is not
only the anointed king, he's also the anointed prophet. Remember
God said, I'll raise up a prophet from among the brethren who will
declare unto you all the will of the Lord. The king is sent
to reign over us. The prophet of God, the Lord
Jesus Christ is anointed and sent of God to reveal the Father
unto us. Remember he said, I've hid these
things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes.
And then the Lord Jesus Christ in that threefold office anointed
as the Christ of God, as the anointed of God, as the Messiah
of God, not only as king, not only as prophet. What's that
third one? He's our priest, isn't he? A
king to reign, a prophet to reveal, and a priest to do what? To redeem
us. He's a priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek. The Lord God Almighty anointed
our blessed Savior in all of his office to accomplish our
salvation. I also think about this when
I think about the anointing. God anointing and appointing
his people. The Lord Jesus Christ appointed
12 men and anointed His apostles with the Holy Spirit and sent
them to go and preach the gospel. He gave them unusual gifts, what
we call apostolic gifts. And He appointed them and anointed
them. And then I think about this too.
I think about the Lord calling out His elect. with the gospel,
and anointing them with the Holy Spirit, and raising them from
the dead, and anointing their eyes, anointing their heart,
giving them life in Christ Jesus, that we might believe the gospel
and love the Lord Jesus Christ. We also see in the call of J. Hugh, he was sitting, did you
notice that? Verse 4 and 5. When the young
man, even the young prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead, and when
he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting. How
many captains were there? Probably dozens, I'm thinking. And he said, I have an errand
to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of
all of us? He said, no, you're the one.
You're the one. To thee, O captain. We also see in this call of Jehu,
he was sitting among the captains, but when the young prophet came
in, the call was to Jehu alone. The Lord's call of the gospel,
and to his elect, just like this call to God's anointed, is on
purpose, isn't it? It was a personal call. Zacchaeus,
make haste, come down. Matthew, follow me. Lazarus,
come forth. It was a personal call. And it's
a powerful call, isn't it? Thy people shall be willing in
the day of his power. And the grace of God is distinguishing
only to the elect of God. Not many wise men, not many noble,
but God has called his people according to his purpose. And
he calls them out with the gospel, the gospel. He calls us out of
darkness into his marvelous light. Now, look at verse six. And he
arose and went into the house and he poured the oil on his
head And said unto him, Thus saith the Lord of Israel, I have
anointed thee king over the people of Israel. The young prophet
proclaimed that Jehu was made king by the decree of God. These captains had nothing to
do with it. No one else had anything to do
with it. Did they? He was made king by
the decree of God, by the appointment of God, by the anointing of God,
and it says here, I have anointed thee king over the people, thus
saith the Lord of Israel. I've appointed thee king over
the people of the Lord and even over Israel. by the power and the authority
he had, it was given to him of God. Now I wrote this note down
in Acts 2.36, the Lord Jesus Christ was made king by God's
unchanging decree. You remember what Peter said,
this same Jesus whom you crucify, God had made him both Lord and
Christ. These men later on, they recognize
his kingship, they bowed to his kingship, but they didn't make
him king, did they? They owned him as God's king. Now in verse seven, down through
verse 12, details are given concerning the judgment that Jehu was to
execute. Let's read verse 7. Thou shalt
smite the house of Ahab thy master, and avenge the blood of thy servants
the prophets, and the blood of the servants of the Lord at the
hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall
perish, and I will cut off for Mahab, him that pissedeth against
the wall, that is every male son, and him that is shut up
and left in Israel, I will make, notice, I will cut off, I will
make the house of Mahab like the house of Jeroboam the son
of Nebat, like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, and the dog
shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel And there shall be
none to bury her. And he opened the door and fled. Now look at verse 11. Then Jehu came forth to the servants
of the Lord. He went back to the meeting of
the captain. And one said unto him, Is all
well? And they said, Wherefore came
this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, you know
the man, this is Jehu speaking, you know the man, you know what
manner of man this is, this was a prophet of the Lord. And you
know his communication, he's telling us the communication
of the Lord. And they said, it's false, tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake
he to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee
king over Israel. Now what I want to point out
here is this. They said, first of all, they
said This is a madman that came to you." They said, secondly,
his message is false. They had no confidence in this
man's message or in this man at all. The Lord, they noticed
what the captain said to Jehu when he came forth from the meeting.
They said, it's all well. After talking with the prophet
of the Lord, Then they said, he's a madman, his message is
false. To those who are pagan idolaters,
the message of the gospel is, what? Foolishness. They said
of the Savior, the Lord Jesus, you remember they said, this
man's beside himself. They said of John the Baptist,
he hath a devil. They said of Paul, you remember
what Festus said of Paul? Thestas said with a loud voice
unto Paul, Thou art beside thyself, much learning hath made thee
a madman. You remember? But notice this, Jesu, not being
discouraged by their taunts, they taunted him, didn't they? He declared the message anyway
without compromise. Thus saith the Lord." They said,
this guy is mad. They said this message is false.
He said, thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king. He
didn't compromise the message. He didn't cut down the message.
He declared the message without compromise. Thus saith the Lord. And you know what? The Lord blessed
that message. Just as the Lord, the Lord had
just anointed me king. Now, put yourself in this situation. He just is telling these captains,
God has just made me your king. What a shocker that must have
been. Now watch this, and here's, then, verse 13, you see that?
Then they hasted. Now how do you account for such
a turnaround? At first they said, this guy,
his message is a lie, he's nothing but a madman. But when Jehu declared
the truth of God, God made me your king. Then they hasted and
took every man his garment, put it under him, on the top of the
stairs and blew the trumpet saying, Jehu is king. Jehu is king. Notice how the Lord changed the
hearts of these captains. And that's what happened. The
Lord changed their heart. They immediately disowned the
old king and committed themselves to Jehu, God's king. Now, this is why we cannot change
or compromise the gospel message, or cut it down, or try to take
defense off. We declare the absolute sovereignty
and lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God's King. He's
King in providence. He's King in salvation. He's
King in creation. He's King over all things. He's
your King. He's your Lord. and we're to
bow to the kingship, the lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is why we don't change or compromise the message of the gospel. We
plainly declare the message and the Lord will bless the message
to the hearts of His people and He will change their mind. No
longer is the preaching of the gospel foolishness, it's the
wisdom and power of God. Yes, Christ is my King. You see, the gospel is the power
of God unto salvation. To try to remove the offense
of the cross is to change its power. Jehu didn't change one
word. He said, God made me king. Then these men didn't say, well,
that just can't be true. That just can't be so. They hasted,
you see that verse 13, and took every man in his garment, put
it under him on the top of the stairs, and they blew the trumpet. Jehu is king, verse 14. So Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat,
the son of Nimshah, conspired against Joram. Now, Joram had kept Ramoth Gilead,
he and all Israel, because Haziel the king, he'd been in battle
with Haziel the king. But King Joram was returned to
be healed in Jezreel of his wounds, which he received with the Syrians
that had given him. And when he fought with Haziel,
king of Syria, Jehu said, if it be your minds, then let none
go forth nor escape out of the city to go tell it in Jezreel. So, Jehu rode in his chariot,
went to Jezreel, where Joram lay there, and Ahaziah, Ahaziah,
Ahaziah, I'll get it right, king of Judah, was come down to Joram. Well, I'm going to quit with
that, and we'll pick up there next time. And we'll see how Joram seeks peace with Jehu,
but peace cannot be made because justice is not satisfied. When
justice is satisfied, then peace will be made. We'll take several
messages and look at the rest of chapter 9 and then chapter
10 and learn more about