Daily Devotional for Wednesday, May 7

Jehu Kills Jezebel

   “And he said, This is the word of the Lord,…In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel,” 2 Kings 9:36, 37.

This time in Israel’s history, the reigns of Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Zimri, Omri, Ahab and Joram, were another dark age. Evil followed evil. Wickedness piled up. Treacherous times called for bold prophets. God commissioned Elijah to set in place a three-tiered system of executing His judgment. Elijah was to anoint Hazael king over Syria, Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel, and Elisha to succeed him as prophet. Jehu would put to death anyone who escaped Hazael’s sword, and Elisha would put to death those who escaped Jehu. Israel needed help.

In 1 Kings 21:19-24, Elijah prophesied the end of Ahab’s reign, his death, his son’s death and Jezebel’s death. After he was taken to Heaven, Elisha carried out the rest of the plan, sending a servant to anoint Jehu king over Israel. His first act as king was a coup.

After Joram’s assassination, Jehu headed for the palace. As he rode in, Jezebel was not mourning in sackcloth and ashes. Quite the contrary, she applied her makeup, fixed her hair and crown, and positioned herself high and mightily in an upper window. She was self-reliant and proud instead of humbled and fearful. Jezebel called Jehu Zimri, the one who treacherously overthrew Baasha but fulfilled the Lord’s word of his destruction. She was right. Jehu had indeed come to fulfill the Lord’s judgment.

Her wickedness left her defenseless. The royal servants quickly shifted loyalty and allegiance. In the same way Joram’s servants joined Jehu against Joram (2 Kings 9:17-20), the two servants attending Jezebel obeyed Jehu’s command to throw her out the window. It was a brutal ending to a brutal queen. 

THOUGHT

“The Lord is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked” (Psalm 129:4).

Kelli Reynolds