Lessons from a renewal of God’s people gone wrong
2 Kings 10:1-36
During the early years after Communism fell in Hungary, there was a lot of debate as to what should happen to those who played prominent roles in upholding a repressive regime. There were different models followed in Eastern Europe. In Romania, the country’s former Communist leader, Ceausescu (and his wife) were executed. In what was then Czechoslovakia, so-called ‘Lustration laws’ banned those who maintained the Communist system earlier (political leaders, secret police, etc) from taking public office. In Hungary, the laws left it up to the individual to refrain from office, a soft option that often did not work. Thus, one prime minister post-Communism was questioned how he could take office when he formerly belonged to the branch of the secret police involved in the brutal suppression of the 1956 uprising. He famously replied, ‘So what?’ and refused to resign. The question in all these examples is partly justice and partly how a country can make a fresh start, free of adverse influences.
Jehu’s butchery
In Israel, this involved dealing with Baal worship (1 Kings 16:30-33) and injustices as illustrated by the seizing of Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21:1-16). God spoke judgment about Ahab’s dynasty (1 Kings 21:17-24) and Jehu became the instrument to purge the land. However, the brutal massacres of this chapter leave us troubled. Jehu is manipulative as he instructs the cowering leaders and guardians to bring the ‘heads’ of the king’s sons to him (2 Kings 10:6).[1] Since ‘heads’ can also mean leaders, the command is ambiguous. Are they to escort the prominent royal descendants for Jehu to deal with? The elders however take drastic action sending the seventy decapitated heads in a basket and thereby become implicated in Jehu’s rebellion (2 Kings 10:7-9). Neither does the carnage stop there. Jehu kills everyone who had anything to do with Ahab in Jezreel and Samaria (the capital): officials, acquaintances, priests and extended family (2 Kings 10:11, 13-14, 17). Finally, using deception, he also slaughters Baal’s worshippers (2 Kings 10:19).
Does God approve?
Most troubling of all, such butchery is affirmed as ‘according to the word of the LORD’ given to Elijah (2 Kings 10:17) and seemingly approved by God Himself (2 Kings 10:30). What are we to make of this? First, Jehu’s portrayal contains hints that he is not an exemplary character. Frequently after a killing, it is he (not the narrator) who appeals to prophecy to justify his actions (2 Kings 9:25-26, 36-37; 10:10). It is only once that the narrator affirms God’s intentions (2 Kings 10:17). Notably, there is also no prophecy connected to killing Ahaziah (king of Judah) or his relatives (2 Kings 9:27-28; 10:12-14). While in broad outline, God wanted Ahab’s family removed, Jehu’s boasting of his zeal (2 Kings 10:16) and his appeal to prophecy sounds like many a political figure ancient and modern who want to show that they are in the right. Secondly, Jehu’s actions are in no way sanitised in the telling: they are manipulative and deceptive, which cast doubt on his integrity. Thirdly, even though the approval in 2 Kings 10:30 sounds unqualified, Jehu’s dynasty will only last four generations. Finally, the evaluation that Jehu did not walk in God’s ways faithfully (2 Kings 10:31) relativises even the earlier praise. While he dealt with the blatant worship of another god (Baal) and with Ahab’s family, he did not eliminate the more subtle forms of idolatry (worshipping God through golden calves). All these aspects contribute to God’s judgment of him even in his lifetime in that Hazael, king of Aram is beginning to conquer some of Israel’s territories (2 Kings 10:32-33).
We should also note that the Book of Kings is more focused on the issue of ridding Israel of the worship of other gods, so it does not take up the judgment of Jehu’s excesses. Nevertheless, his bloody purge does not go unnoticed. Hosea, who prophesied in the fourth generation of Jehu’s dynasty (Jehu – 2 Kings 9-10; Jehoahaz – 2 Kings 13:1; Joash/Jehoash – 2 Kings 13:10, Jeroboam II – 2 Kings 14:16; Hos 1:1) proclaims God’s judgment. The prophet is told to name his son Jezreel as a reminder that God ‘will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel’ (Hos 1:4).[2]
What went wrong in Jehu’s reform?
What can we learn from such a repulsive story? Stepping back, the larger issue at stake is that God’s people worship other gods. How can renewal happen in which there is truly ‘peace’ (i.e. wellbeing, flourishing – 2 Kings 9:22)? While removing evil influences is important, Jehu’s story demonstrates the human tendency to distort justice in self-appointed zeal into a ruthless vendetta and worse still, to co-opt God to approve of one’s agenda. It also highlights the temptation to achieve the right ends (true worship) through the wrong means (e.g. manipulation, deception). God’s people today are not a political entity like Israel, so that the way a church may be renewed or freed from ungodly influences will look different.
Lessons for the Christian Church
Nevertheless, the temptations and problems we see in Jehu’s story are recognisable in our Christian contexts. Churches may start out with the right desire to ensure solid biblical teaching and worship that is a genuine encounter with the Lord. However, good intentions can degenerate into petty quarrels where one-upmanship becomes the order of the day and where God’s Word is appealed to for justifying both sides. Methods to remove undesirable elements may also involve dirty tactics such as slander or threats to pressure people to leave. Often such ungodly behaviour also connects to beliefs that may be zealous in one direction but permissive of other bad influences (like Jehu’s uncompromising stance against Baalism but acceptance of worshipping God through golden calves). Sadly, such ways of handling issues in the church lead to splits, deep wounds, a loss of trust and bitterness. There are, however, better ways of achieving renewal and we shall see an example of this in the next chapter as well as in the story of a later king, Josiah (2 Kings 22-23).
[1] Although 2 Kings 10:1 says that Ahab had seventy ‘sons’, the term is sometimes used loosely of descendants, not necessarily just of sons in the strict sense. The mention of ‘guardians’ for the ‘sons’ (2 Kings 10:5) suggest that some were quite young and therefore more likely to be grandsons. Seventy is probably a symbolic number indicating completeness (both seven and ten are associated with completeness and seventy [7×10] makes this even more emphatic).
[2] Jezreel here stands not only for the massacres committed in this city (2 Kings 10:11), some of which were not executed on Jehu’s direct command (2 Kings 10:7), but the whole of Jehu’s excesses in purging Israel of Ahab’s connections. Jezreel is probably used because the seventy decapitated heads of Ahab’s various descendants are the most gruesome aspect of the story and emblematic of all the cruelty involved in the purge.
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