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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!
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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.
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Then Jehu ordered, “Prepare a solemn assembly to worship Baal!” So they did.
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He sent messengers throughout all Israel summoning those who worshiped Baal. They all came—not a single one remained behind—and they filled the temple of Baal from one end to the other.
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And Jehu instructed the keeper of the wardrobe, “Be sure that every worshiper of Baal wears one of these robes.” So robes were given to them.
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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 the LORD is here—only those who worship Baal.”
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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.”
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As soon as Jehu had finished sacrificing the burnt offering, he commanded his guards and officers, “Go in and kill all of them. Don’t let a single one escape!” So they killed them all with their swords, and the guards and officers dragged their bodies outside. Then Jehu’s men went into the innermost fortress of the temple of Baal.
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They dragged out the sacred pillar used in the worship of Baal and burned it.
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They smashed the sacred pillar and wrecked the temple of Baal, converting it into a public toilet, as it remains to this day.
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In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel.
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He did not, however, destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan, with which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin.
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Nonetheless the LORD 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.”
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But Jehu did not obey the Law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.
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At about that time the LORD began to cut down the size of Israel’s territory. King Hazael conquered several sections of the country
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east of the Jordan River, including all of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh. He conquered the area from the town of Aroer by the Arnon Gorge to as far north as Gilead and Bashan.
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The rest of the events in Jehu’s reign—everything he did and all his achievements—are recorded in
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When Jehu died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Jehoahaz became the next king.
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In all, Jehu reigned over Israel from Samaria for twenty-eight years.