2 Kings 10

1 And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent to Samaria unto the princes of Jezreel, to the elders, and to those that brought up Ahab’s children, saying,

2 Now as soon as this letter comes to you, unto those who have your master’s sons and who have chariots and horsemen and who have the arms and munitions of the city,

3 see which is the best and most upright of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne and fight for your master’s house.

4 But they were exceedingly afraid and said, Behold, two kings could not stand before him; how then shall we stand?

5 And he that was over the house and he that was over the city, the elders also, and those who had brought up the children sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy slaves and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king; thou shalt do that which is good in thy eyes.

6 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye are mine and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take the heads of the male sons of your master and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king’s sons, being seventy males, were with the great men of the city, who had brought them up.

7 And when the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slew seventy males and put their heads in baskets and sent him them to Jezreel.

8 And a messenger came and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said, Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.

9 And in the morning, he went out and stood and said to all the people, Ye are righteous; behold, I conspired against my master and slew him; but who slew all these?

10 Know now that of the word of the LORD which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, nothing shall fall to the ground, for the LORD has done that which he spoke by his slave Elijah.

11 So Jehu slew all that had remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and all his kinsfolk and all his priests until he left him none remaining.

12 And he arose and departed and came to Samaria. And as he was at a pastor’s shearing house in the way,

13 Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah, and we go down to salute the sons of the king and the sons of the queen.

14 So he said, Take them alive. And after they took them alive, they slew them at the well of the shearing house, forty-two men, without leaving any of them.

15 And when he had departed from there, he met Jehonadab, the son of Rechab; and after he saluted him, he said to him, Is thy heart right as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it is, give me thy hand. And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot.

16 And he said, Come with me, and thou shalt see my zeal for the LORD. So they had him ride in his chariot.

17 And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that had remained of Ahab in Samaria, until he had completely destroyed him, according to the word of the LORD which he had spoken to Elijah.

18 And Jehu gathered all the people together and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little but Jehu shall serve him much.

19 Now, therefore, call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let no one be lacking, for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whoever is lacking shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty to the intent that he might destroy those that served Baal.

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

21 And Jehu sent through all Israel, and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was no one lacking that did not come. And they came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.

22 And he said to the one that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all those that served Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.

23 And Jehu went with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal and said unto the servants of Baal, Search and make sure that none of the slaves of the LORD are here with you, but only the servants of Baal.

24 And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu put eighty men outside and said, Whoever leaves alive any of the men whom I have brought into your hands, his life shall be for that of the other.

25 And after they had finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to those of his guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none escape. And they smote them with the edge of the sword, and the guard and the captains left them where they fell and went to the city of the house of Baal,

26 and they removed the images out of the house of Baal and burned them.

27 And they broke down the image of Baal and broke down the house of Baal and made it a latrine unto this day.

28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

29 However with all this, Jehu did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin with the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan.

30 And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in my eyes and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, thy sons shall sit on the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation.

31 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; neither did he depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had caused Israel to sin.

32 In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short, and Hazael smote them in all the borders of Israel,

33 from the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, all the land of Gilead, of Gad, of Reuben, and of Manasses, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, to Gilead and to Bashan.

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, reigned in his stead.

36 The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

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.

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.