2 Kings 9

Bad News From the Good Shepherd

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30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window. 31 And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?” 32 And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 33 He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. 34 Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” 35 But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 36 When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, 37 and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’” – 2 Kings 9:30-37 ESV

Having killed King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah, Jehu returned to the summer palace in Jezreel, because there still remained one last piece of unfinished business. Ahaziah’s mother, Jezebel, was still alive and well, and Jehu knew that as long as she remained so, she would continue to have a devastating influence over the kingdom of Israel. She had proven herself to be resilient and stubbornly opposed to any attempt to restore the worship of Yahweh in Israel. Not only was she committed to her false gods, but she was also willing to do anything to maintain her vise-like grip on the kingdom over which her husband once ruled.

By the time Jehu showed up, Jezebel had been informed of her son’s death. In an apparent effort to disguise any sign of sorrow that might be mistaken for weakness, Jezebel “painted her eyes and adorned her head” (2 Kings 9:30 ESV). She got dressed in her royal robes and presented herself at the window of the palace. It seems likely that she believed herself to be the rightful heir to her son’s throne and hoped to convince the crowds gathered outside her window that she was still in charge. She called out to Jehu, “Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?” (2 Kings 9:31 ESV). This statement was meant to put Jehu in his place, comparing him to another former traitor, who 44 years earlier had assassinated King Elah of Israel. Whether she realized it or not, this was an apt comparison, because Zimri had also been used by God to fulfill His judgment upon the house of another wayward and wicked king.

There has been a recurring cycle of sin and judgment taking place throughout the books of 1st and 2nd Kings. It had all begun with Jeroboam, whom God had placed over the northern kingdom of Israel after having divided Solomon’s kingdom in half. But Jeroboam proved to be a wicked king who led the ten northern tribes into idolatry. As a result, God swore that He would punish Jeroboam and his descendants for their unfaithfulness.

“I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the LORD has spoken it.” – 1 Kings 14:10-11 ESV

Eventually, Jeroboam died and his son, Nadab, ascended to the throne of Israel. But he proved to be just as wicked as his father, continuing to encourage the Israelites to worship false gods. So, God raised up Baasha, who killed Nadab and crowned himself the king of Israel.

“As soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, according to the word of the LORD… – 1 Kings 15:29 ESV

But nothing changed. Baasha kept the legacy of Jeroboam alive, promoting idolatry and apostasy among the ten northern tribes of Israel. So, God was forced to deliver another message of judgment against the reigning king of Israel. This time, it had to do with Baasha.

“Since I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the heavens shall eat.” – 1 Kings 16:2-4 ESV

The pattern continues. God removes one king for his rebellion and replaces him with another who demonstrates the same stubborn penchant for doing things his own way. And don’t miss the similarity in the judgments God pronounces on both men. Each would suffer a similar fate, as would their descendants. God would wipe out any potential heirs, leaving their bodies to be eaten by scavengers.

Baasha had been given the opportunity to lead the people back to God, but had failed to do so. Eventually, he died, and his son, Elah became the king of Israel. This is where Zimri comes into the story.

Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him [Elah], in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. When he began to reign, as soon as he had seated himself on his throne, he struck down all the house of Baasha. He did not leave him a single male of his relatives or his friends. Thus Zimri destroyed all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord… – 1 Kings 16:10-12 ESV

Now, years later, here was Jezebel making an unfavorable comparison between Jehu and this former traitor and usurper to the throne. But little did she realize that Jehu, like Zimri, was acting on behalf of God Almighty. He had been anointed by the prophet of God and given divine instructions to bring judgment against the house of Ahab.

“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, I anoint you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel. And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” – 2 Kings 9:6-10 ESV

The next rotation in the cycle of sin and judgment was about to come full circle. Jezebel stood in the window of her palace, her makeup freshly applied and her royal gown glistening in the sunlight. But she could not disguise the darkness that lurked within her heart. She may have looked like a queen, and she probably believed she deserved to be queen. But God had other plans for Jezebel.

Down in the courtyard, still seated in his chariot, Jehu cried out, “Who is on my side? Who?” (2 Kings 9:32 ESV). At the sound of his voice, several servants peered out the window to see who was speaking. Then they heard him shout, “Throw her down” (2 Kings 9:33 ESV), and, without a moment’s hesitation, they grabbed the well-adorned queen and threw her from the upper-story window of the palace. These lowly servants could see that the tide had turned and their queen had lost her power. So, when commanded to choose sides, they had no trouble making their decision. They cast their votes by throwing Jezebel to the courtyard below. And the author provides a graphic description of her ignominious end:

…some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her.” – 2 Kings 9:33 ESV

His gruesome assignment completed, Jehu calmly entered the palace and sat down to a meal. When he finally gave the order for Jezebel’s body to be given a decent burial, all that was left were her skull, feet, and the palms of her hand. In keeping with God’s prophecy, wild scavenging dogs had picked her corpse apart, leaving little left to be buried. For more than 30 years, this woman had used her power and influence to shape the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel. Jezebel had fiercely promoted and defended her false gods, choosing to do everything in her power to eliminate the worship of Yahweh from Israel. But just as her 450 prophets had failed to defeat Elijah, the prophet of God, Jezebel failed in her quest to dethrone Yahweh as the God of Israel.

She was dead, but Yahweh was alive and well. Even a seemingly ceaseless cycle of apostate kings could not thwart the will of God. They could abandon Him, but He was not going away. He remained committed to the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And even if His chosen people refused to fulfill their end of the covenant agreement, He would do what He had promised to do.

In the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet records the words that Yahweh spoke against His so-called “shepherds,” those who had been given the divinely ordained task of caring for His flock. These political and spiritual leaders had failed to do their jobs, choosing instead to use their positions of power for personal profit. So, Yahweh had Ezekiel deliver a prophetic warning to these profiteering promoters of idolatry.

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign LORD: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep?” – Ezekiel 34:2 NLT

Jeroboam, Basha, Elah, Ahab, Jehoram, and Jezebel each proved to be unreliable shepherds who fleeced the flock of God and forced them to turn their backs on the Good Shepherd. But Yahweh would not tolerate their insubordination and insipient idolatry.

“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, you abandoned my flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were my shepherds, you didn’t search for my sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve. Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I now consider these shepherds my enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to my flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.” – Ezekiel 34:8-10 NLT

The Good Shepherd would see to it that His flock was cared for. Despite the abysmal track record of His undershepherds, the covenant-keeping God of Israel would fulfill every promise He made to His people.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Anointed to Annihilate

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1 Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tie up your garments, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. 2 And when you arrive, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. 3 Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the LORD, I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.”

4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 5 And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. And he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “To which of us all?” And he said, “To you, O commander.” 6 So he arose and went into the house. And the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, I anoint you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel. 7 And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD. 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled.

11 When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they said to him, “Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the fellow and his talk.” 12 And they said, “That is not true; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and so he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, I anoint you king over Israel.’” 13 Then in haste every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “Jehu is king.” – 2 Kings 9:1-13 ESV

In 1 Kings 19:15-16, we have the record of God’s final commission to Elijah, in which He gave the prophet three tasks. One of them was to anoint Hazael to be the next king of Syria. A second was to anoint Jehu as king of Israel. The third was to anoint Elisha as his own successor.

Elijah followed God’s instructions regarding Elisha, and, at this point in the story, the new prophet has thoroughly established himself as Elijah’s God-ordained replacement. It would also appear that Elijah kept God’s command concerning the anointing of Hazael. In 2 Kings 8, the author revealed the morbid details concerning Hazael’s ascension to the throne of Syria. While King Ben-hadad was weak and recovering from a recent illness, Hazael murdered him by suffocating him to death with a wet sheet. And the prophet Elisha had wept when he realized the deadly consequences for Israel that would accompany this man’s rise to power.

“Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” – 2 Kings 8:12 ESV

But as 2 Kings 9 opens, it becomes apparent that there was one aspect of Elijah’s assignment he had neglected to complete. Either that, or he had chosen to pass on the responsibility to his successor. Jehu had not yet been anointed King of Israel. Jehoram, the son of Ahab and Jezebel, still occupied the throne and was continuing his parents’ legacy of apostasy and unfaithfulness. But the time had come for God’s prophecy concerning Ahab and his descendants to be fulfilled. He had warned Ahab that his stubborn determination to lead the people of Israel into idolatry would not go unpunished.

“So now the LORD says, ‘I will bring disaster on you and consume you. I will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel! I am going to destroy your family as I did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made me very angry and have led Israel into sin.’” – 1 Kings 21:21-22 NLT

God had used the prophet Elijah to deliver this message of impending destruction. He was not going to allow Ahab and Jezebel to go unpunished for their blatant disregard for His law or their arrogant dismissal of His sovereignty over Israel. God would do to them what He had done to Jeroboam and Baasha by completely wiping out their hopes for establishing a dynasty by destroying all their male descendants.  When considering the curse God leveled against Ahab, it is essential to compare it with the promise God made to King David.

“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” – 2 Samuel 7:12-16 ESV

While Ahab, Jeroboam, and Baasha would see their dreams of establishing long-lasting dynasties come to an end, God promised David that his house and throne would endure forever. And God would fulfill this promise through the southern kingdom of Judah. Even though most of the kings who eventually ruled over Judah proved to be just as godless and wicked as the northern kings, God would keep His promise to secure the Davidic dynasty. And, as the New Testament reveals, He would do so through Jesus Christ, a descendant of David and the Messiah of Israel.

But God had something far less glorious in store for King Jehoram of Israel. As he sat in his summer palace in Jezreel, he had no idea that God was about to remove him from power and bring his father’s wicked legacy to an abrupt and permanent end.

Once again, it appears that Elijah never completed his assignment to anoint Jehu as the next king of Israel. So, Elisha was left with the responsibility of finalizing God’s three-part anointing plan. But even Elisha seems to have delegated this final job to an underling. He selected one of the prophets and gave him precise instructions: “Take this flask of olive oil with you. Go to Ramoth-gilead, and find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Call him into a private room away from his friends, and pour the oil over his head. Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you to be the king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run for your life!” (2 Kings 9:1-3 NLT). That last sentence could not have left the young prophet feeling confident and encouraged as he made his way to Ramoth-gilead.

But even though Elijah passed the buck to Elisha, who in turn reassigned the responsibility to someone else, God’s will would be done. This young prophet, flask in hand, would be used to anoint Jehu as the divine instrument of God’s wrath against Ahab and his descendants.

When the prophet arrived in Ramoth-gilead, he found Jehu in a meeting with his fellow generals. He summoned Jehu into a private room, where he poured the oil on his head and informed the surprised general of his new position and commission.

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I anoint you king over the LORD’s people, Israel. You are to destroy the family of Ahab, your master. In this way, I will avenge the murder of my prophets and all the LORD’s servants who were killed by Jezebel. The entire family of Ahab must be wiped out. I will destroy every one of his male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel.” – 2 Kings 9:6-8 NLT

All of this was unexpected news to Jehu. There is no indication that he had been plotting Jehoram’s death and his own ascension to the throne. But the shocking news of his kingship had to have been overshadowed by the clear conditions associated with it. He was to completely wipe out every last male descendant of Ahab. Not only that, he was to see to it that Jezebel met her end as well.

“Dogs will eat Ahab’s wife Jezebel at the plot of land in Jezreel, and no one will bury her.” – 2 Kings 9:10 NLT

God was commanding Jehu to launch an insurrection against the king and his family. As Jehu sat with oil running down his head and the prophet’s words racing through his brain, the king’s generals waited with curiosity on the other side of the door. Having completed his assignment, the prophet fled for his life, leaving Jehu to rejoin his fellow generals and face their questions about what had just happened. Despite the oil dripping from his head, he attempted to downplay his encounter with the prophet. But they sensed he was hiding something and pressed him for details.

Wisely choosing not to divulge all the specifics of his conversation with the prophet, Jehu simply stated, “He said to me, ‘This is what the LORD says: I have anointed you to be king over Israel’” (2 Kings 9:12 NLT). And, much to his relief and surprise, the reaction he received from his peers was positive and encouraging. 

Then they quickly spread out their cloaks on the bare steps and blew the ram’s horn, shouting, “Jehu is king!” – 2 Kings 9:13 NLT

His fellow generals declared their overwhelming support of his anointing as the next king of Israel. Of course, they weren’t aware of the second half of the prophet’s message concerning the complete annihilation of Ahab’s family. But at this point, they were entirely on board with Jehoram’s removal and Jehu’s rise to power. Some of their enthusiasm could have been the result of the king’s recent defeat against the Syrians at Ramoth-gilead. Jehoram had been wounded in the battle and was recuperating at Jezreel. These generals may have lost confidence in Jehoram’s leadership and welcomed the idea of a king with a military background. The Syrians remained a threat to the nation, and Jehoram had proven himself to be a less-than-reliable commander-in-chief.

But, as always, this was the sovereign hand of God orchestrating every single detail of the storyline so that His divine will might be accomplished. He had pledged to destroy Ahab’s dynasty, and now He was about to implement His plan to bring it about. And that plan would include Jehu, who found himself in the unexpected but vital role of the LORD’s anointed. Jehu had not earned the right to be the next king of Israel; God had sovereignly chosen him to be an instrument of judgment against the descendants of Ahab.

It is interesting to note that Jehu’s name means “Yahweh is He.” This obscure general had no track record of faithfulness to Yahweh, but as the prophet Samuel learned when he was looking for God’s replacement for King Saul, “The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7 NLT). Yahweh was intimately aware of Jehu’s heart and knew he was the perfect man to carry out His plan of judgment against Ahab, Jezebel, and their descendants. As the next chapter will reveal, Jehu proved to be the right choice for the job because he carried out Yahweh’s will and set in motion a series of aggressive efforts to eradicate Baal worship from the land of Israel. 

Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel. – 2 Kings 10:28 NLT

Yahweh would use Jehu to remove the wicked influence of Jezebel and her false god, but his reformation efforts would be insufficient. As the next chapter reveals, “He did not, however, destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan, with which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin” (2 Kings 10:29 NLT). Despite his radical reforms, the nation of Israel would remain apostate and idolatrous. But Yahweh would use this flawed and far-from-faithful man to accomplish His sovereign vow to repay Ahab for his wickedness.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.