King Jehu
Jehu was a son of Jehoshaphat from Judah. He was anointed
as a king over Israel by one of the Lord's prophets upon directives from
Prophet Elisha.
He was anointed purposely to carry out revenge on the
family of King Ahab and his descendants as the Lord had promised through
Prophet Elijah.
THE
REVOLUTIONS OR REFORMS (ACHIEVEMENTS)
King Jehu ruled in Samaria as king of Israel for a period
of 28 years. Therefore, he was one of the longest serving kings in the history
of Israel's monarchy.
King Jehu's leadership was willed by God who wanted him
to fulfill the prophesies of Elijah against the family of King Ahab and his
descendants.
King Jehu obeyed all the commands of the Lord, which were
revealed to him by His prophets. This was opposed to the character of his
predecessors who disobeyed the Lord's commands.
King Jehu eliminated some members of the ruling family
from King Ahab's line as he killed King Joram as the Lord had commanded him.
King Jehu ordered for the killing of King Ahaziah of
Judah because of his alliance with King Joram of Israel.
King Jehu ordered for the killing of Jezebel, the pagan
wife of King Ahab by throwing her through a window. Her body was eaten by the
dogs as Elijah had prophesied.
The king ordered for the killing of all the seventy
descendants of King Ahab living in Samaria as the Lord had commanded.
King Jehu put to death all the relatives of King Ahaziah
for their sympathy on the children of Queen Jezebel and the rest of the royal
family.
He also killed all the relatives of King Ahab. Not even a
single one remained as the Lord had revealed to Prophet Elijah.
King Jehu put to death all the worshippers of Baal in the
whole land of Israel. He ensured that only the worshippers of Baal were present
in the temple as they were being killed.
He destroyed the sacred pillar that was used during the
worshipping of Baal. It was taken out of the temple and burnt into ashes.
Besides, King Jehu destroyed the temple in which the
people worshipped Baal. It was turned into a pit latrine. This helped to
restore monotheism in Israel.
King Jehu allowed the priests of God to do their work in
Israel as he used one of them to help put to death all the worshippers of Baal.
He revived theocracy in Israel as he was appointed by the
Lord through His prophets under the directive of Prophet Elisha.
He destroyed religious syncretism in the nation of
Israel. By this he allowed the people of Israel to fellowship with their God.
He purified the land of Israel by destroying all the
pagan practices that had become common among the people.
The Lord promised King Jehu a dynasty. After his death,
his son, Jehoahaz succeeded him and ruled Israel for seventeen years (2 Kings
10:30 and 13:1).
THE WEAKNESSES OF
KING JEHU
King Jehu disobeyed some of the laws of the Lord, the God
of Israel. Therefore, he was not true in his relationship with God.
King Jehu worshipped the golden bulls and cows as his
ancestor King Jeroboam had done during his reign.
Jehu led the people of Israel astray as he made them to
practice religious syncretism especially when he put up the golden bull for the
people to worship.
Jehu promoted his personal ambitions rather than the
glory of God when he killed King Ahaziah of Judah.
He became unrepentant as his reign was coming to an end
Because of this, God punished the whole nation.
His dynasty saw Israel's territory reduce in size.
Because of their continuous sinning, God used King Hazael of Syria to conquer
some territories in the eastern part of Jordan.
Revision Questions
1. Assess the
reforms or revolutions of King Jehu in Israel
2. What lessons can political leaders learn from the leadership of King Jehu?
Jehu
| Jehu | |
|---|---|
| King of Israel | |
|
|
| Reign | c. 841–814 BC |
| Coronation | Ramoth-Gilead, Israel |
| Predecessor | Jehoram of Israel |
| Successor | Jehoahaz of Israel |
| Issue | Jehoahaz of Israel |
| Father | Jehoshaphat |
| Died | c. 814 BC |
| Burial | Samaria, Kingdom of Israel |
Jehu (/ˈdʒiːhjuː/; Hebrew: יֵהוּא, Modern Yehu,Tiberian Yēhû, meaning "Jehovah is He"; Latin: Iehu) was the tenth king of Israel since Jeroboam I, noted for exterminating the house of Ahab at the instruction of Yahweh.[1] He was the son of Jehoshaphat,[2] and grandson of Nimshi.
William F. Albright has dated his reign to 842–815 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 841–814 BC.[3] The principal source for the events of his reign comes from 2 Kings 9–10.
Proclamation as king[edit]
The reign of Jehu's predecessor, Jehoram, was marked by the Battle of Ramoth-Gilead against the army of the Arameans. Jehoram was wounded and returned to Jezreel to recover. He was attended byAhaziah, king of Judah, who was also his nephew. The writer of the Book of Kings tells that when the captains of the Israelite army were assembled away from the king's eyes, the prophet Elisha sent one of his students to the gathering. Elisha's student led Jehu away from the others, anointed him king in an inner chamber, and then departed (2 Kings 9:5-6). Jehu's companions asked where he had been. When told, they enthusiastically blew their trumpets and proclaimed him their king.[4]
Jezreel and the deaths of Jehoram and Jezebel[edit]
With a chosen band, Jehu proceeded to Jezreel. King Jehoram tried to flee, but Jehu fired an arrow which pierced his heart. King Ahaziah managed to escape, but was mortally wounded, and died shortly after in Megiddo.[4]
The author of Kings tells that Jehu entered the city without resistance. He saw Jehoram's mother, Jezebel, watching him with contempt from a palace window. Jehu commanded the palace eunuchs to throw her from the window. Jezebel was killed, and Jehu drove his chariot over her body. Her servants later came to bury her, only to find that dogs had eaten all but her hands, feet, and skull.[5]
Now master of Jezreel, Jehu wrote to command the chief men in Samaria to hunt down and kill all of the royal princes. They did as ordered, and the next day he found seventy heads piled in two heaps outside the city gate. Ahab's entire family was slain.[5] Shortly afterwards, Jehu encountered the "brothers of Ahaziah" (since the brothers of Ahaziah had previously been taken away and probably killed by the Philistines (2 Chronicles 21:17), these must have been relatives of Ahaziah in a broader sense, like nephews and cousins) at "Beth-eked of the shepherds". He then slaughtered all of them at "the pit of Beth-eked", forty-two men in total.
Jehu's genocidal act was allegedly to honour the God of Israel since Jehoram's mother, Jezebel, had allowed pagan temples to exist in the kingdom. The biblical account frequently invokes the "avenging the blood of Naboth" (9:21,25,26), whose vineyard Ahab, Jehoram's father, had taken by force (1 Kings 21:4). Jehoram's defeat at Ramoth-Gilead gave them an opportunity to throw off his burdensome rule.
Following Jehu's slaughter of the Omrides, he met Jehonadab the Rechabite, who joined him in his chariot. They entered the capital together. This indicates that at least at the beginning of his reign, Jehu was supported by the pro-Jehovah faction.[citation needed] Once in control of Samaria, he summoned the worshippers of Baal and killed them (2 Kings 10:19–25). He then destroyed their idols and their temple and turned it into a latrine. (10:27).
Other than Jehu's bloody seizure of power and his tolerance for the golden calves at Dan andBethel, little else is known of his reign. He was hard pressed by Hazael, king of the Arameans, who defeated his armies "throughout all of the territories of Israel" beyond the Jordan river, in the lands of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh (10:32f).
This suggests that Jehu offered tribute to Shalmaneser III, as depicted on his Black Obelisk, in order to gain a powerful ally against the Arameans. Bit-Khumri was used by Tiglath-pileser III for the non-Omride kings Pekah (733) & Hoshea (732),[6] hence House/Land/Kingdom of Omricould apply to later Israelite kings not necessarily descended from Omri.
The prophet Hosea wrote in Hosea 1:4-5 that the house of Jehu was punished by God through the hands of the Assyrians for the bloodshed carried out by Jehu at Jezreel.
Black Obelisk[edit]
Aside from the Hebrew Scriptures, Jehu appears in Assyrian documents, notably in the Black Obelisk where he is depicted as kissing the ground in front of Shalmaneser III. In the Assyriandocuments he is simply referred to as "son of Omri" (The House of Omri being an Assyrian name for the Kingdom of Israel). This tribute is dated 841 BC.[7] It is the earliest preserved depiction of an Israelite.
According to the Obelisk, Jehu severed his alliances with Phoenicia and Judah, and became subject to Assyria.
Tel Dan Stele[edit]
The author of the Tel Dan Stele (found in 1993 and 1994) claimed to have slain both Ahaziah of Judah (who was visiting Jehoram) and Jehoram. The most likely author of this monument isHazael of the Arameans.
Sources and notes[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jehu. |
- ^ Meaning of Jehu - History and Origin – Meaning of "Jehu", Hebrew name, Meaning-of-Names.com.
- ^ Jehu's father was not the roughly contemporaneous KingJehoshaphat of Judah, whose own father was King Asa of Judah. "Generally Jehu is described as the son only of Nimshi, possibly because Nimshi was more prominent or to avoid confusing him with the King of Judah (R’Wolf)". Scherman, Nosson, ed., "I–II Kings", The Prophets, 297, 2006. See (2 Kings 9:2)
- ^ Edwin Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, (1st ed.; New York: Macmillan, 1951; 2d ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965; 3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan/Kregel, 1983). ISBN 0-8254-3825-X, 9780825438257
- ^ a b Driscoll, James F. "Jehu." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 7 Jan. 2014
- ^ a b "The Dynasty & Judgment on Ahab's House" - Historical Discovery - Old Testamemt.
- ^ Kitchen, K A (2003) The Reliability of the Old Testament, Cambridge, Eerdmans, p. 24
- ^ Millard, Alan (1997) Discoveries from Bible Times, Oxford, Lion, p. 121
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Jehu
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| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jehoram |
King of Israel 841–814 BC |
Succeeded by Jehoahaz |
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