1. 2 Kings 9-10 “The Revolution of Jehu; the Wrath of God”

2. 2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri. 3 Ahaziah also followed the evil example of King Ahab’s family, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong. 4 He did what was evil in YaHWeH’s sight, just as Ahab’s family had done.
2 Chronicles 22

3. Ahaziah joined Joram, the son of King Ahab of Israel, in his war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead…Because Joram was wounded, King Ahaziah of Judah went to Jezreel to visit him. 7 But God had decided that this visit would be Ahaziah’s downfall.
2 Chronicles 22

4. The revolution of 841 b.c. may well have been the most important political development in the history of the separate monarchies since the kingdom divided in 930 b.c. Both kingdoms were affected immediately by what transpired. Besides the obvious political changes brought on by the revolution, one can trace the effects of this coup in the religious, economic and social realms as well. James E. Smith

5. 1 Meanwhile, Elisha the prophet had summoned a member of the group of prophets. “Get ready to travel,” he told him, “and take this flask of olive oil with you. Go to Ramoth-gilead, 2 and find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Call him into a private room away from his friends, 3 and pour the oil over his head. Say to him, ‘This is what YaHWeH says: I anoint you to be the king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run for your life!”
2 Kings 9

6. “This unnamed young prophet is identified in Jewish tradition with Jonah.” (Wiseman) 2 Kings 14:25 25 Jeroboam II recovered the territories of Israel…just as YaHWeH, the God of Israel, had promised through Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher. Jonah 1:1-2 YaHWeH gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh.

7. “Jehu is mentioned twice in the cuneiform inscriptions on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III The Shalmaneser inscriptions also give us an objective date for this period in Hebrew chronology, 841 b.c.” (Dilday)

8. Then the young prophet poured the oil over Jehu’s head and said, “This is what YaHWeH, the God of Israel, says: I anoint you king over YaHWeH’s people, Israel. 7 You are to destroy the family of Ahab, your master. In this way, I will avenge the murder of my prophets and all YaHWeH’s servants who were killed by Jezebel.
2 Kings 9

9. 8 The entire family of Ahab must be wiped out
8 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. 9 I will destroy the family of Ahab as I destroyed the families of Jeroboam son of Nebat and of Baasha son of Ahijah. 10 Dogs will eat Ahab’s wife Jezebel at the plot of land in Jezreel, and no one will bury her.”
2 Kings 9

10. 16 Then anoint Jehu grandson of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet. 17 Anyone who escapes from Hazael will be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu will be killed by Elisha! 18 Yet I will preserve 7,000 others in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed him!”
1 Kings 19:16–18 (NLT)

11. 11 Jehu went back to his fellow officers, and one of them asked him, “What did that madman want? Is everything all right?” “You know how a man like that babbles on,” Jehu replied. 12 “You’re hiding something,” they said. “Tell us.” So Jehu told them, “He said to me, ‘This is what YaHWeH says: I have anointed you to be king over Israel.’ ” 13 Then they quickly spread out their cloaks on the bare steps and blew the ram’s horn, shouting, “Jehu is king!”
2 Kings 9

12. 14 So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, led a conspiracy against King Joram…So Jehu told the men with him, “If you want me to be king, don’t let anyone leave town and go to Jezreel to report what we have done.” 16 Then Jehu got into a chariot and rode to Jezreel to find King Joram, who was lying there wounded. King Ahaziah of Judah was there, too, for he had gone to visit him.
2 Kings 9

13. They met him at the plot of land that had belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. 22 King Joram demanded, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?” Jehu replied, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel, are all around us?” 23 Then King Joram turned the horses around and fled, shouting to King Ahaziah, “Treason, Ahaziah!” 24 But Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he sank down dead in his chariot.
2 kings 9

14. “A technical archery term is used: ‘filled his hand with the bow,’ that is, stretched the bow ‘with his full strength.’ ” (Wiseman)

15. 25 Jehu said to Bidkar, his officer, “Throw him into the plot of land that belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Do you remember when you and I were riding along behind his father, Ahab? YaHWeH pronounced this message against him: 26 ‘I solemnly swear that I will repay him here on this plot of land, says YaHWeH, for the murder of Naboth and his sons that I saw yesterday.’ So throw him out on Naboth’s property, just as YaHWeH said.”
2 Kings 9

16. 27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled along the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu rode after him, shouting, “Shoot him, too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot at the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam. He was able to go on as far as Megiddo, but he died there. 28 His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem, where they buried him with his ancestors in the City of David. 29 Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab.
2 Kings 9

17. 7 But God had decided that this visit would be Ahaziah’s downfall
7 But God had decided that this visit would be Ahaziah’s downfall. While he was there, Ahaziah went out with Joram to meet Jehu grandson of Nimshi, whom YaHWeH had appointed to destroy the dynasty of Ahab. 8 While Jehu was executing judgment against the family of Ahab, he happened to meet some of Judah’s officials and Ahaziah’s relatives who were traveling with Ahaziah. So Jehu killed them all.
2 Chronicles 22

18. 9 Then Jehu’s men searched for Ahaziah, and they found him hiding in the city of Samaria. They brought him to Jehu, who killed him. Ahaziah was given a decent burial because the people said, “He was the grandson of Jehoshaphat—a man who sought YaHWeH with all his heart.” But none of the surviving members of Ahaziah’s family was capable of ruling the kingdom.
2 Chronicles 22

19. "Jehu kills Joram in the field of Jezreel, as Ahaziah and Joram were together; Ahaziah, seeing this, flees, and gets into Samaria, and hides himself there. Jehu marches to Jezreel, and makes Jezebel dogs' meat: from thence he sends to Samaria for the heads of Ahab's children and posterity: which are brought him by night, and showed to the people in the morning.

20. Then he marches to Samaria, he makes search for Ahaziah: they find him hid, bring him to Jehu, and he commands to carry him up towards Gur, by Ibleam, and there to slay him. It may be, his father Joram had slain his brethren there, as Ahab had done Naboth, in Jezreel. They do so; smite him there in his chariot; and his charioteer drives away to Megiddo before he dies. The story in the book of Kings is short: but the book of Chronicles shows the order." Lightfoot's Works, vol. i., p. 88.

21. Ahaziah was also a blood relative of Ahab (Ahab was his grandfather), therefore making him liable under the judgment that came upon Ahab and his descendants. “By failing to separate himself from Jehoram, he made himself liable to suffer the same punishment that God had previously announced against Ahab’s house which he had chosen Hazael and Jehu to carry out.” (Selman)

22. 30 When Jezebel, the queen mother, heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window. 31 When Jehu entered the gate of the palace, she shouted at him, “Have you come in peace, you murderer? You’re just like Zimri, who murdered his master!”
2 Kings 9

23. Jezebel called Jehu “Zimri” after the man who assassinated King Baasha of Israel (1 Kings 16:9-12), when Zimri was also the servant of Baasha, a commander in his army. It was her way of calling Jehu a despicable rebel. It was also an implied threat, because the brief reign of Zimri was ended by Omri, who was the father of Ahab and the father-in-law of this same Jezebel. By implication, Jezebel said “The dynasty of Omri will defeat you just like it defeated Zimri.” David Guzik

24. 32 Jehu looked up and saw her at the window and shouted, “Who is on my side?” And two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 33 “Throw her down!” Jehu yelled. So they threw her out the window, and her blood spattered against the wall and on the horses. And Jehu trampled her body under his horses’ hooves.
2 Kings 9

25. 35 But when they went out to bury her, they found only her skull, her feet, and her hands. 36 When they returned and told Jehu, he stated, “This fulfills the message from YaHWeH, which he spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe: ‘At the plot of land in Jezreel, dogs will eat Jezebel’s body. 37 Her remains will be scattered like dung on the plot of land in Jezreel, so that no one will be able to recognize her.’ ”
2 Kings 9

26. 23 “And regarding Jezebel, YaHWeH says, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body at the plot of land in Jezreel.’ 24 “The members of Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.”
1 Kings 21

27. 1 Ahab had seventy sons living in the city of Samaria
1 Ahab had seventy sons living in the city of Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the elders and officials of the city, and to the guardians of King Ahab’s sons. …“If you are on my side and are going to obey me, bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the seventy sons of the king were being cared for by the leaders of Samaria, where they had been raised since childhood.
2 Kings 10

28. 7 When the letter arrived, the leaders killed all seventy of the king’s sons. They placed their heads in baskets and presented them to Jehu at Jezreel. So Jehu ordered, “Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate, and leave them there until morning.”
2 Kings 10
2 Kings 10

29. 9 In the morning he went out and spoke to the crowd that had gathered around them. “You are not to blame,” he told them. “I am the one who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these? 10 You can be sure that the message of YaHWeH that was spoken concerning Ahab’s family will not fail. YaHWeH declared through his servant Elijah that this would happen.”
2 Kings 10

30. 11 Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s relatives living in Jezreel and all his important officials, his personal friends, and his priests. So Ahab was left without a single survivor. 12 Then Jehu set out for Samaria…13 he met some relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. “Who are you?” he asked them. And they replied, “We are relatives of King Ahaziah. We are going to visit the sons of King Ahab and the sons of the queen mother.”
2 Kings 10

31. 14 “Take them alive. ” Jehu shouted to his men
14 “Take them alive!” Jehu shouted to his men. And they captured all forty-two of them and killed them at the well of Beth-eked. None of them escaped. 2 Kings 10
Some believe that the execution of Ahaziah’s family was an example of Jehu going too far. “The sword of judgment, so far as the expressed purpose of Jehovah was concerned, should have been confined to the house of Ahab. But a reckless and ambitious hand was wielding it, and it devoured beyond the allotted limits.” (Knapp)

32. 4 Then YaHWeH said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.”
Hosea 1:4–5 (NIV84)

33. “According to Josephus, Jehu and Jehonadab were friends of long standing, and both detested the luxurious surrounding of the royal family.” (Dilday) We have never had a drink of wine to this day, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters. 9 We haven’t built houses or owned vineyards or farms or planted crops. 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed all the commands of Jehonadab, our ancestor. Jeremiah 35:5-10

34. 17 When Jehu arrived in Samaria, he killed everyone who was left there from Ahab’s family, just as YaHWeH had promised through Elijah.
2 Kings 10

35. 18 Then Jehu called a meeting of all the people of the city and said to them, “Ahab’s worship of Baal was nothing compared to the way I will worship him! 19 Therefore, summon all the prophets and worshipers of Baal, and call together all his priests. See to it that every one of them comes, for I am going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal. Anyone who fails to come will be put to death.” But Jehu’s cunning plan was to destroy all the worshipers of Baal.
2 kings 10

36. 23 Then Jehu went into the temple of Baal with Jehonadab son of Recab
23 Then Jehu went into the temple of Baal with Jehonadab son of Recab. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, “Make sure no one who worships YaHWeH is here—only those who worship Baal.” 24 So they were all inside the temple to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty of his men outside the building and had warned them, “If you let anyone escape, you will pay for it with your own life.”
2 Kings 10

37. The priests of Baal believed the deception
The priests of Baal believed the deception. “They were excited that their new king, Jehu, and the famous sheik of the Rechabites, Jehonadab, were now distinguished converts and were joining them in a ceremonial sacrifice to Baal.” (Russell Dilday)

38. Then Jehu’s men went into the innermost fortress of the temple of Baal
Then Jehu’s men went into the innermost fortress of the temple of Baal. 26 They dragged out the sacred pillar used in the worship of Baal and burned it. 27 They smashed the sacred pillar and wrecked the temple of Baal, converting it into a public toilet, as it remains to this day.
2 Kings 10

39. 28 In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel
28 In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel. 29 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

40. He allows the worship instituted by Jeroboam to continue
He allows the worship instituted by Jeroboam to continue. In effect, then, he expels the foreign religion (Baalism) in favor of the long-standing Israelite state religion begun by Jeroboam. Apparently he believes reform beyond the elimination of Ahab’s children, Ahab’s wife, and Ahab’s religion, that is, what secures his power, does not concern him. Israel is now back to where it was before Ahab and Jezebel assumed leadership, but it has certainly not come back to YaHWeH.” House

41. 30 Nonetheless YaHWeH said to Jehu, “You have done well in following my instructions to destroy the family of Ahab. Therefore, your descendants will be kings of Israel down to the fourth generation.” 31 But Jehu did not obey the Law of YaHWeH, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.
2 Kings 10

42. Ahaziah
841 1
Jehu 28
Athaliah 6
Joash 40
Jehoahaz 17
Jehu began Israel’s fifth and longest royal dynasty. He and his descendants reigned 88 years ( B.C.). He himself reigned 28 years ( B.C.). His contemporaries in Judah were Queen Athaliah and King Joash. Tom Constable

43. 32 At about that time YaHWeH began to cut down the size of Israel’s territory. King Hazael conquered several sections of the country 33 east of the Jordan River, including all of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh.
2 Kings 10

44. By not taking heed to walk in the law of YaHWeH God, Jehu showed that he did not live a life of fellowship with God. He was a success in one regard, but a successful failure. “How terrible a warning is the story of this man – that it is possible to be an instrument in the hand of God and yet never be in fellowship with Him.”
(G. Campbell Morgan)