Second Kings 9 Commentary
The prophet who is sent to anoint Jehu is commanded not to wait around. No selfies. No autographs. No gifts from the newly anointed king. He had to get out of the place as fast as he possibly could. So admirable!
So Jehu becomes king in Israel. He is anointed by the LORD to destroy the house of Ahab – a task he executes perfectly. King Joram is assassinated by Jehu. A visiting king of Judah, Ahaziah is also killed at the same time. The chapter closes with the killing of the once-powerful, seducing and controlling Jezebel.
Her life ends shamefully. And there is nothing more to it, not even a plot among the dead. One would ask, what do power and sinfulness bring to the table? Not immortality. A man’s invincibility doesn’t exist. It is just a lie. And even more sadly, Jezebel’s end is a true end. There is no hope for her and her type.
On the other hand, those she brutally murdered, the servants of the LORD, had gained for themselves immortality in father Abraham’s bosom. “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die,” said the LORD Jesus Christ.
Jezebel had set out to build castles for herself this side of the world. She was a principality in the flesh. The idolatry she sponsored had far-reaching consequences. She spurned every opportunity to have a life again through a real relationship with the life-giver. But what was all this vanity for? A dead-end like hers? Does a man ever sit down to consider the possible outcomes of his life’s vanities?
This chapter is set to strongly remind us of what happens to vanity seekers. It never just ends well, both in this physical life and importantly in the next life.
Hidden in these lines is another important fact: Israel is living every letter of the scripture. The nation has been under constant attack from Aram, in addition to natural famines. At certain times, conditions became so bad that women cooked their own children to just have a meal. Look at it again. Israel is living Deuteronomy 28 verse 15 to 68.
Nothing happens outside the parameters, as designed by the Creator God. We really don’t have the control that we think we have. Jezebel needed to hear this last line.
More resources visit http://www.lovingscripture.com
LOVING SCRIPTURE 