Jehu Assassinates Joram and Ahaziah

                                                                      2 Kings 9:14-20

 

September 15, 2021

 

 

Jehu Assassinates Joram and Ahaziah

Thus, Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram with all Israel had been on guard at Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Syria,   but King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) So, Jehu said, “If this is your decision, then let no one slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.”   Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to visit Joram.

Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’”   So,  a man on horseback went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.”   Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus the king has said, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.”   Again, the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”

 

Often we are on guard for the wrong enemy as was Joram, that could be the answer to why so many have been taken victim of fear and hate in the Church.  We believe and put trust in people in leadership, in the media, and in science and refused to look to the Truth, Jesus is the truth.  All through the Scriptures, we are ordered to fear not, the only one we should fear is God.  Often we have misplaced faith in those of title and role of leadership in our nation and have forgotten that God said all men are liars, and only God is true.  It is time for the Church to be like the Berean in Acts 17:11, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

 

What kind of man was Jehu, a Commander of many in the army of Israel, a man with knowledge of what the prophets had forecast and one who drives furiously, very fast?  When the men were sent out by the king there is a good chance he was a military man and when Jehu told him to fall in behind him he did as the Commander instructed.  We could learn a lot as followers of Christ from the military, for we also are part of the Army of Christ.  And in our military we teach to follow orders, could that be why the Christian Army has little power?  Only follow a leader who follows Christ, and make sure his talk holds to his actions.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice