2 Kings 10

Judgment upon Ahab's House

1 Now Ahab had seventy sons in ¹Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying,

2 "Now, ²when this letter comes to you, since your master's sons are with you, as well as the chariots and horses and a fortified city and the weapons,

3 select the best and fittest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house."

4 But they feared greatly and said, "Behold, ³the two kings did not stand before him; how then can we stand?"

5 And the one who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Jehu, saying, "⁴We are your servants, all that you say to us we will do, we will not make any man king; do what is good in your sight."

6 Then he wrote a letter to them a second time saying, "If you are on my side, and you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, your master's sons, and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow about this time." Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them.

7 When the letter came to them, they took the king's sons and ⁵slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel.

8 When the messenger came and told him, saying, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons," he said, "Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning."

9 Now in the morning he went out and stood and said to all the people, "You are innocent; behold, ⁶I conspired against my master and killed him, but ⁷who killed all these?

10 "Know then that ⁸there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the LORD has done ⁹what He spoke through His servant Elijah."

11 So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in ¹⁰Jezreel, and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.

12 Then he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way while he was at Beth-eked of the shepherds,

13 ¹¹Jehu met the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, "Who are you?" And they answered, "We are the relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother."

14 He said, "Take them alive." So they took them alive and killed them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two * men; and he left none * of them.

15 Now when he had departed from there, he met ¹²Jehonadab the son of ¹³Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, "Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?" And Jehonadab answered, "It is." Jehu said, "If it is, ¹⁴give me your hand." And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot.

16 He said, "Come with me and ¹⁵see my zeal for the LORD." So he made him ride in his chariot.

17 When he came to Samaria, ¹⁶he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, ¹⁷according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah.

Jehu Destroys Baal Worshipers

18 Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, "¹⁸Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.

19 "Now, ¹⁹summon all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests; let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever * is missing shall not live." But Jehu did it in cunning, so that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal.

20 And Jehu said, "²⁰Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal." And ²¹they proclaimed it.

21 Then Jehu sent throughout Israel and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And when they went into ²²the house of Baal, the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other.

22 He said to the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, "Bring out garments for all the worshipers of Baal." So he brought out garments for them.

23 Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, "Search and see that there is here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but only the worshipers of Baal."

24 Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he had said, "²³The one who permits any of the men whom I bring into your hands to escape shall give up his life in exchange."

25 Then it came about, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the ²⁴guard and to the royal officers, "²⁵Go in, kill them; let none * come out." And they killed them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the royal officers threw them out, and went to the inner room of the house of Baal.

26 They brought out the sacred ²⁶pillars of the house of Baal and burned them.

27 They also broke down the sacred pillar of Baal and broke down the house of Baal, and ²⁷made it a latrine to this day.

28 Thus Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel.

29 However, ²⁸as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the ²⁹golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan.

30 The LORD said to Jehu, "Because * you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, ³⁰your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel."

31 But Jehu ³¹was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; ³²he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.

32 In those days the ³³LORD began to cut off portions from Israel; and ³⁴Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel:

33 from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from ³⁵Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even ³⁶Gilead and Bashan.

Jehoahaz Succeeds Jehu

34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all that he did and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles * of the Kings of Israel?

35 And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son became king in his place.

36 Now the time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight * years.

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2 Kings 10 Commentary

Chapter 10

Ahab's sons and Ahaziah's brethren put to death. (1-14) Jehu destroys the worshippers of Baal. (15-28) Jehu follows Jeroboam's sins. (29-36)

Verses 1-14 In the most awful events, though attended by the basest crimes of man, the truth and justice of God are to be noticed; and he never did nor can command any thing unjust or unreasonable. Jehu destroyed all that remained of the house of Ahab; all who had been partners in his wickedness. When we think upon the sufferings and miseries of mankind, when we look forward to the resurrection and last judgment, and think upon the vast number of the wicked waiting their awful sentence of everlasting fire; when the whole sum of death and misery has been considered, the solemn question occurs, Who slew all these? The answer is, SIN. Shall we then harbour sin in our bosoms, and seek for happiness from that which is the cause of all misery?

Verses 15-28 Is thine heart right? This is a question we should often put to ourselves. I make a fair profession, have gained a reputation among men, but, is my heart right? Am I sincere with God? Jehonadab owned Jehu in the work, both of revenge and of reformation. An upright heart approves itself to God, and seeks no more than his acceptance; but if we aim at the applause of men, we are upon a false foundation. Whether Jehu looked any further we cannot judge. The law of God was express, that idolaters were to be put to death. Thus idolatry was abolished for the present out of Israel. May we desire that it be rooted out of our hearts.

Verses 29-36 It is justly questionable whether Jehu acted from a good principle, and whether he did not take some false steps in doing it; yet no services done for God shall go unrewarded. But true conversion is not only from gross sin, but from all sin; not only from false gods, but from false worships. True conversion is not only from wasteful sins, but from gainful sins; not only from sins which hurt our worldly interests, but from those that support and befriend them; in forsaking which is the great trial whether we can deny ourselves and trust God. Jehu showed great care and zeal for rooting out a false religion, but in the true religion he cared not, took no heed to please God and do his duty. Those that are heedless, it is to be feared, are graceless. The people were also careless, therefore it is not strange that in those days the Lord began to cut Israel short. They were short in their duty to God, therefore God cut them short in their extent, wealth, and power.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 36

1. 1 Kings 16:24-29
2. 2 Kings 5:6
3. 2 Kings 9:24, 27
4. Joshua 9:8, 11; 1 Kings 20:4, 32; 2 Kings 18:14
5. Judges 9:5; 2 Kings 11:1
6. 2 Kings 9:14-24
7. 2 Kings 10:6
8. 2 Kings 9:7-10
9. 1 Kings 21:19-29
10. Hosea 1:4
11. 2 Kings 8:24, 29; 2 Chronicles 21:17; 2 Chronicles 22:8
12. Jeremiah 35:6-19
13. 1 Chronicles 2:55
14. Ezra 10:19; Ezekiel 17:18
15. 1 Kings 19:10
16. 2 Kings 9:8
17. 2 Kings 10:10
18. 1 Kings 16:31, 32
19. 1 Kings 18:19; 1 Kings 22:6
20. Joel 1:14
21. Exodus 32:4-6
22. 1 Kings 16:32; 2 Kings 11:18
23. 1 Kings 20:30-42
24. 1 Samuel 22:17
25. 1 Kings 18:40
26. 1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 3:2
27. Ezra 6:11; Daniel 2:5; Daniel 3:29
28. 1 Kings 12:28-30; 1 Kings 13:33, 34
29. 1 Kings 12:29
30. 2 Kings 15:12
31. Proverbs 4:23
32. 2 Kings 10:29
33. 2 Kings 13:25; 2 Kings 14:25
34. 1 Kings 19:17; 2 Kings 8:12; 2 Kings 13:22
35. Deuteronomy 2:36
36. Amos 1:3-5

Footnotes 30

[a]. Lit "and with you the"
[b]. Lit "most upright"
[c]. Lit "just"
[d]. Lit "smote"
[e]. Lit "by the hand of"
[f]. Lit "smote"
[g]. I.e. house of binding
[h]. Lit "found"
[i]. Lit "brothers"
[j]. Lit "said"
[k]. Lit "brothers"
[l]. Lit "about the welfare of"
[m]. Lit "found"
[n]. Lit "blessed"
[o]. Lit "said"
[p]. Lit "they"
[q]. Lit "smote"
[r]. Lit "insidiousness"
[s]. Lit "in all"
[t]. Lit "over the"
[u]. Lit "his soul for his soul"
[v]. Lit "runners"
[w]. Lit "smite"
[x]. Lit "smote"
[y]. Lit "runners"
[z]. Lit "city"
[aa]. Lit "did not watch"
[ab]. Lit "in"
[ac]. Lit "smote"
[ad]. Lit "days"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 10

This chapter gives a further account of the destruction of the house of Ahab by Jehu, or his orders, even of all his sons and relations, 2Ki 10:1-11, and also of the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, 2Ki 10:12-14, of his taking up Jehonadab the son of Rechab into his chariot, to be a witness of his zeal for the Lord, 2Ki 10:15-17, and of his gathering together the prophets, priests, and worshippers of Baal, and slaying them, 2Ki 10:18-25 and of his extirpation of the idolatry of Baal, 2Ki 10:26-28, nevertheless he continued the worship of the calves, 2Ki 10:29-31 wherefore Israel was distressed by the king of Syria, 2Ki 10:32,33 and the chapter is concluded with the reign and death of Jehu, 2Ki 10:34,35.