| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
2 Kings Chapter
Nine
2 Kings 9
Chapter Contents
Elisha sends to anoint Jehu. (1-10) Jehu and the
captains. (11-15) Joram and Ahaziah slain by Jehu. (16-29) Jezebel eaten by
dogs. (30-37)
Commentary on 2 Kings 9:1-10
(Read 2 Kings 9:1-10)
In these and the like events, we must acknowledge the
secret working of God, disposing men to fulfil his purposes respecting them.
Jehu was anointed king over Israel, by the Lord's special choice. The Lord
still had a remnant of his people, and would yet preserve his worship among
them. Of this Jehu was reminded. He was commanded to destroy the house of Ahab,
and, as far as he acted in obedience to God, and upon right principles, he
needed not to regard reproach or opposition. The murder of God's prophets is
strongly noticed. Jezebel persisted in idolatry and enmity to Jehovah and his
servants, and her iniquity was now full.
Commentary on 2 Kings 9:11-15
(Read 2 Kings 9:11-15)
Those who faithfully deliver the Lord's message to
sinners, have in all ages been treated as madmen. Their judgment, speech, and
conduct are contrary to those of other men; they endure much in pursuit of
objects, and are influenced by motives, into which the others cannot enter. But
above all, the charge is brought by the worldly and ungodly of all sorts, who
are mad indeed; while the principles and practice of the devoted servants of
God, prove to be wise and reasonable. Some faith in the word of God, seems to
have animated Jehu to this undertaking.
Commentary on 2 Kings 9:16-29
(Read 2 Kings 9:16-29)
Jehu was a man of eager spirit. The wisdom of God is seen
in the choice of those employed in his work. But it is not for any man's
reputation to be known by his fury. He that has rule over his own spirit, is
better than the mighty. Joram met Jehu in the portion of Naboth. The
circumstances of events are sometimes ordered by Divine Providence to make the
punishment answer to the sin, as face answers to face in a glass. The way of
sin can never be the way of peace, Isaiah 57:21. What peace can sinners have with
God? No peace so long as sin is persisted in; but when it is repented of and forsaken,
there is peace. Joram died as a criminal, under the sentence of the law.
Ahaziah was joined with the house of Ahab. He was one of them; he had made
himself so by sin. It is dangerous to join evil-doers; we shall be entangled in
guilt and misery by it.
Commentary on 2 Kings 9:30-37
(Read 2 Kings 9:30-37)
Instead of hiding herself, as one afraid of Divine
vengeance, Jezebel mocked at fear. See how a heart, hardened against God, will
brave it out to the last. There is not a surer presage of ruin, than an
unhumbled heart under humbling providences. Let those look at Jezebel's conduct
and fate, who use arts to seduce others to commit wickedness, and to draw them
aside from the ways of truth and righteousness. Jehu called for aid against
Jezebel. When reformation-work is on foot, it is time to ask, Who sides with
it? Her attendants delivered her up. Thus she was put to death. See the end of
pride and cruelty, and say, The Lord is righteous. When we pamper our bodies,
let us think how vile they are; shortly they will be a feast for worms under
ground, or beasts above ground. May we all flee from that wrath which is
revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Kings》
2 Kings 9
Verse 1
[1] And
Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto
him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to
Ramothgilead:
Ramoth —
The kings of Israel and Judah were both absent, and Jehu, as it seems, was left
in chief command.
Verse 7
[7] And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the
blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD,
at the hand of Jezebel.
I may avenge,… —
That they were idolaters was bad enough: yet that is not mentioned here: the
controversy God has with them, is for being persecutors. Nothing fills the
measure of the iniquity of any prince so as this doth, nor brings a surer or
sorer ruin.
Verse 11
[11] Then
Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all
well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know
the man, and his communication.
Mad fellow —
They perceived him to be a prophet by his habit, and gestures, and manner of
speech. And these prophane soldiers esteemed the prophets mad-men. Those that
have no religion, commonly speak of those that are religious with disdain, and
look upon them as crack-brained. They said of our Lord, He is beside himself;
of St. Paul, that much learning had made him mad. The highest wisdom is thus
represented as folly, and they that best understand themselves, as men beside
themselves.
Verse 13
[13] Then
they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of
the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.
They hasted —
God putting it into their hearts thus readily to own him.
Under him —
Under Jehu. A ceremony used in the eastern parts towards superiors, in token of
reverence to his person, that they would not have his feet to touch the ground,
and that they put themselves and their concerns under his feet, and into his
disposal.
The stairs — In
some high and eminent place, whence he might be seen and owned by all the
soldiers, who were called together upon this great occasion.
Verse 21
[21] And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king
of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they
went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.
Portion of Naboth —
The very sight of that ground was enough to make Jehu triumph and Joram
tremble. The circumstances of events are sometimes so ordered by Divine
providence, as to make the punishment answer the sin, as face answers face in a
glass.
Verse 22
[22] And
it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he
answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her
witchcrafts are so many?
Whoredoms, … —
This may be understood, either literally; spiritual whoredom, which is
idolatry, being often punished with corporal: and witchcraft was often
practised by idolaters: or spiritually, of her idolatry, which is often called
whoredom, because it is a departing from God, to whom we are tied by many
obligations; and witchcraft, because it doth so powerfully bewitch men's minds;
and because it is a manifest entering into covenant with the devil. He mentions
not Joram's, but his mother's sins; because they were more notorious and
infamous: and because they were the principal cause why God inflicted, and he
was come to execute these judgments. The way of sin can never be the way of
peace.
Verse 24
[24] And
Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and
the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.
The arrow — It
was one of God's arrows, which he ordained against the persecutor.
Verse 27
[27] But
when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden
house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot.
And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to
Megiddo, and died there.
He died —
The history is briefly and imperfectly described here, and the defects supplied
in (the book of Chronicles, is great part written for that end, to supply
things omitted in the book of Kings) out of both it may be thus compleated: he
fled first to Megiddo, and thence to Samaria, where he was caught, and thence
brought to Jehu, and by his sentence was put to death at Megiddo.
Verse 31
[31] And
as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
Had Zimri —
Remember thy brother traitor Zimri had but a very short enjoyment of the
benefit of his treason.
Verse 34
[34] And
when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed
woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter.
And said — It
seems he had forgot the charge given him above, verse 10.
A king's daughter — He
doth not say, because she was a king's wife, lest he should seem to shew any
respect to that wicked house of Ahab, which God had devoted to utter
destruction.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2 Kings》
09 Chapter 9
Verses 1-37
Look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat.
The history of Jehu
Jehu was the son of Nimshi and the grandson of Jehoshaphat. He was
one of the monsters of history. The leading facts of his revolting life will be
found in this and the preceding chapter.
I. A revolting exhibition of
human depravity. He was ruthlessly and craftily cruel. He shot Jehoram dead in
his chariot. He commanded Jezebel, who was looking out of a window as he passed
by, to be thrown down, and in her fall she was smashed to destruction (2 Kings 9:30.) He then proceeded to
exterminate the family of Ahab.
II. A distressing mystery in
the government of God. That the merciful Father should permit men to be
murderers one of another confounds us with amazement.
III. A mighty argument for
future retribution. Were we to believe that this state of things is to continue
for ever, religion, which is supreme love to God, would be out of the question.
“We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”
IV. A proof of the supreme
need of a moral regenerator. What can alter the character of such men as this
Jehu, and put an end to all the cruelties, tyrannies, frauds, and violence,
that turn the world into a pandemonium? Philosophy, literature, civilisation,
legislative enactments, ceremonial religions? No, nothing short of a Power
which can change the moral heart. The Gospel is this regenerating power. Thank
God One has come into this world who will “create a new heaven and a new earth
wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (David Thomas, D. D.)
Jehu
The time had now fully come that the wrath of God was to be poured
out upon the house of Ahab. The chapters we have selected for consideration
bring this subject before us. The anointed of the Lord for the execution of
this work was Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat. The first to fall under judgment was
Jehoram the king. After him came Ahaziah and Jezebel; then the sons and
grandsons of Ahab and the brethren of Ahaziah. After the royal family came the
prophets, the priests, and the worshippers of Baal. These were all swept away
at one stroke. Next followed the images of Baal and his house. These were
devoted to utter destruction. So completely were the judgments of God executed
upon apostate Israel and Judah that it is recorded “thus Jehu destroyed Baal
out of Israel.” The narrative, however, has a spiritual aspect. Jehu’s
anointing was to a destruction with carnal weapons. The child of God now is
anointed for a destruction of spiritual foes with spiritual weapons.
1. In these words we are presented with a picture of the way in which
the Lord acts when He is about to call His servants to do His work. In the
first place, there is the “anointing”--the Holy Spirit. Elisha commands the
“box of oil” to be taken. Nothing can be done without this. In all true
consecration to God’s service the work must be, from beginning to end, the work
of the Holy Spirit. Jehu can have no commission without the “oil.” He can put
no energy to work till the “oil” is “poured” upon him. It is this “anointing”
that gives him his authority, his power, his perseverance, and his success. So
it must be with the one who is devoted to the Lord’s service.
2. In the next place, Jehu is made to “rise up from among his
brethren.” Here is separation. The work of God the Holy Ghost at once separates
a man from everything around him. It is a personal call, an individual work. It
is the direct action of that Holy Spirit on a man’s own soul. He is drawn from
every association and influence, and brought into “an inner chamber”--alone
with God. There he is taught of God and trained for His work. There he obtains
strength to fulfil it. Thus it is with all God’s chosen ones. The more of this
personal dealing of the Holy Spirit there is with the soul, the more of this
work of the “inner chamber” going on, the more effectual will be the work we
undertake for God. One marvels to see what one man could do! All the royal
family, the prophets and priests, the worshippers and the idols--all fell down
before this man at
one stroke! What was the cause, what the secret source of this mighty energy and strength and success?
It was the “off,” the “separation,” and the “inner chamber.”
3. How little the world can understand or appreciate this Divine work
is seen here. The messenger of the Lord is looked upon as a “mad fellow.” This
anointing is a secret into which none can enter but those who are subjects of
it. Nor can he who is the subject ever sacrifice truth for the sake of peace.
Three times the question is put to Jehu, “Is it peace?” But what peace can
there be while God is dishonoured, sin loved and cherished, and the truth of
God trampled in the dust! First purity, then peace--this is God’s order. Peace
at any price--this is man’s. The world cries out for peace, and there is ready
for it “the peace of God which passeth all understanding.” But this peace
springs from “the sword” which, first piercing man’s heart for sin, breaks him
from sin. Then follows the peace of God. There could be no peace to Joram, King
of Israel, so long as God’s truth was despised and set at nought. Put the sin
away, every jot of it, then you can have God’s peace in your soul! But who will
maintain this standard? Who will carry it out at all seasons and under all
circumstances? Only the consecrated Christian. Such high ground must entail the
cross at every step, and none but a consecrated Christian can bear the cross
“in season and out of
season.” None will take this ground unless there has been much of the “oil,”
the “separation,” and the “inner chamber.”
4. And mark the clear and unhesitating way in which every spiritual
foe must be met, everything that stands between the soul and God dealt with.
Jehu says, with regard to Ahaziah and Jezebel, “Smite him also,” “throw her
down”; with regard to Ahab’s seventy sons, “Take ye the heads of the men, and
bring them to me to Jezreel by to-morrow; with regard to the brethren of
Ahaziah, “Take them alive”; with regard to the prophets, and priests, and
worshippers, he says, “If any of the men escape, he that letteth him go his
life shall be for the life of him.” What uncompromising faithfulness! What an
unreserved cutting-off of every evil one! Kings, nor queens, nor worshippers,
are spared! All are swept away without a moment’s hesitation! Ah, this is
“faithfulness unto death!” This is consecration to God. This is what St. Paul
meant when he said--“I am determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and
Him crucified”; “to me to live is Christ.” It is clear from all I have said,
that the difference between a just-saved Christian and one who is thus
consecrated, is almost as great as between the former and an unbeliever. And
this is the reason there is among Christians so little of the joy of the Lord.
5. Mark the hindrances, and the taunts and sneers such devotion to
God has to endure: “Wherefore came this mad fellow,” said one; “Had Zimri
peace, who slew his master?” was the bitter taunt of Ahab’s queen; “we are
exceedingly afraid,” was the cowardly reply of the rulers of Jezreel. To all
these taunts and sneers Jehu has but one reply, “Who is on my side? Is thine
heart right with my heart?” His was an eye looking right on, an arm ever
uplifted, a course that saw nothing before him but the carrying out of God’s
word. Here the faithful one is crowned. Glory rests upon him and, through him,
on his descendants. “I will give thee a crown of life”; “Him that overcometh
will I grant to sit with Me on My throne, even as I also overcame and am set
down with My Father in His throne.” See the glory that awaits the consecrated
life! Is this life thine? Art thou aiming at it, wrestling in prayer for it,
keeping it ever before thee? Christian, nothing but this will bring joy and
gladness to thy heart now, and “a crown of glory “ hereafter. This is life--the
life of God. This is testimony--testimony to Christ. This is heaven enjoyed on
earth--but only enjoyed through the Cross. Christian, again I ask, Is this life
thine?
6. But here the curtain falls. A dark shadow crosses our path. Jehu
falls. Thank God for the spiritual picture we have been enabled to draw from
his life of what a Christian should be. Thank God for the warning his life
presents in its fall. “But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God
of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam,
who made Israel to sin.” Draw the picture of every earthly servant of God as
bright as we may, there is a shadow somewhere. It is well. The eye should fix
itself only on Him. “Looking off unto Jesus.” Jehu falls.
Let us mark how he fell, and the solemn warning that fall
presents.
1. I have been describing the whole-heartedness which characterises
every consecrated Christian. But to be whole-hearted, and to maintain it, from
day to day, amid influences on every side destructive of it, “needs that we
take heed.” Jehu “took no heed.” Here is our first warning,
2. Secondly, “to walk.” This is where the “heed” is to be directed. Talk
there is, plenty, and “the talk of the lips tendeth to penury.” Profession
there is--it is the garment of the many. Just-saved ones there are--the Church
has multitudes of them what we need is “to walk”--“walk in the light,” “walk
before Me,” “walk as becometh saints.” This is where we have to “take heed.”
“Jehu took no heed to walk.”
3. Thirdly, “to Walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel.” It is to
walk in the truth, to “have His commandments and keep them,” to ask at every
step, “what would the Lord have
me to do?” It is to “set the Lord always before me.” This is “to walk in the
law of the Lord God of Israel.” This Jehu “took no heed” to do.
4. And lastly, “to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all
his heart.” Here is whole-heartedness, consecration to God. Some Christians
give half a heart. Others give their heart just when it is convenient--just
when the Lord’s claims involve no sacrifice. Jehu fell just here. Christians
all around fall just here. The Church of Christ is full of fallen Johns! Fallen
Jehus, on whose brows will rest a deep brand of shame when the Lord comes!
Fallen Jehus, the heavy drags on the wheels of every chariot that would run a
faster race to heaven! (F. Whitefield, M. A.)
Jehu’s ready obedience
We cannot but be struck by the obedience of Jehu to the heavenly
call. There was no hesitation. We show ourselves to be yet under bondage when
we hesitate regarding the calls which God addresses to us. We linger, we wish
to return and bid those farewell who are in our father’s house; we have sundry
things to adjust and determine before we can go, we secretly hope that in the
meantime occurrences may transpire which will Change the line of our destiny;
by all this we mar the simplicity and purity of obedience, and discover a
spirit that is not fit to be trusted with great functions and responsibilities
in the Divine economy. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Value of Jehu’s work
“Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel” (verse 28). But the way
was wrong. Perhaps for the period within which the destruction took place it
was the only ministry that was possible. The incident, however, must stand in
historical isolation, being utterly useless as a lesson or guide for our
imitation. We are called upon to destroy Baal out of Israel, but not with
sword, or staff, or implement of war. “The weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds of Satan.”
Jehu did his rough-and-ready work, a work, as we have said, adapted to the
barbaric conditions under which he reigned, but there must be no Jehu in the
Christian Church, except in point of energy, decision, obedience, and
single-mindedness of purpose. A Christian persecution is a contradiction in
terms. When Christians see evil, they are not to assail it with weapons of war;
they are to preach against it, argue against it, pray about it, bring all
possible moral force to bear upon it, but in no case is physical persecution to
accompany the propagation of Christianity. Not only so: any destruction that is
accomplished by physical means is a merely temporary destruction. There is in
reality nothing in it. When progress of a Christian kind is reported it must
not be tainted by the presence of physical severity. We cannot silence evil
speakers by merely closing their mouths; so long as we can hold those mouths
there may indeed be silence, but not until the spirit has been changed, not
until the very heart has been converted and born again, can the evil-doer be silenced,
and his mouth be dispossessed of wicked speeches and filled with words of
honesty and pureness. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Incomplete obedience
Visibility and universality are Popish marks of a true Church, and
Protestant marks of a true Christian. An hypocritical Jehu will do “some
things”; a murderous Herod will do “many things”; but an upright Paul is “in
all things willing to live honestly.” A ship that is not of the right make
cannot sail trim, and a clock whose spring is faulty will not always go true;
so a person of unsound principles cannot be constant and even in his practices.
The religion of those that are inwardly rotten, is like a fire in some cold
climates, which almost fries a man before, when at the same time he is freezing
behind; they are zealous in some things, as holy duties, which are cheap, and
cold in other things, especially when they cross their profit or credit; as
Mount Hecla is covered with snow on one side, when it burns and casts out
cinders on the other; but the holiness of them that are sound at heart is like
the natural heat,--though it resorts most to the vitals of sacred performances,
yet, as need is, it warms and has an influence upon all the outward parts of
civil transactions. It may be said of true sanctity, as of the sun, “there is
nothing hid from the heat
thereof.” (G. Swinnock.)
Verse
11
Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee?
The reproach of true religion
The man who was spoken of in this contemptuous manner was a
prophet of God, sent by another prophet to a fellow-subject, with the present
of a kingdom in his hand. Before night (so it appears) that kingdom had been
secured; two confederate kings had been swept out of the way; and a
queen-mother, stronger than either, had been literally cast to the dogs. Such
was the brief history of this message from heaven. No one called the prophet a
madman at the close of that day. Many another true message from heaven has had
a similar fate; and all such messages may expect it. They may expect a similar
reproach in the first instance; and a similar vindication in the end.
I. Concerning the reproach.
God hath spoken at “sundry times and in divers manners” to the world; but the
messengers by whom He has spoken have seldom been recognised as such at the
first. From the days of Noah to those of St. Paul, experience testifies this.
Wherever God sends a special message to men, it clearly must be because a
special message is required; in other words, because the knowledge and wisdom
of man are not sufficient in his then existing circumstances to guide him. God
sends him counsel because his own counsel is worthless, or worse. But this is
just the thing which man’s pride is unwilling to allow. Again, God’s counsel,
like Himself, is certain to be holy; and man’s natural purposes, on the other
hand, are sure to be ungodly and sinful. Further yet, God’s wisdom is sure to
be far-sighted and profound, while the faculties which attempt to scan it are
always short-sighted and shallow. On all these grounds, therefore, the message,
when it comes, will be something unwelcome and perplexing at the first. Its
pretensions will be humiliating to man’s pride; its tendency will be offensive
to his nature; its contents will be confounding to his mind. “I know you that
ye have not the love of God in you.” It is an aggravated illustration of the
same principle which causes frivolity to despise enthusiasm; selfishness,
generosity; the savage, mercy and truth; and the clown, the highest efforts of
literature, science, and art. Men hate to believe in anything superior to
themselves.
II. Concerning the
vindication. “Wisdom is justified of all her children.” Where a message is
really from God, it compels belief at the last. This may be easily seen in all
the cases already referred to. The flood of waters justified Noah; the fire
from heaven justified Lot; the Exodus justified Moses; and the victory over the
Philistines justified David. Exactly in proportion to the original contempt was
the final honour in each case. It was the same with the apparently habitual
scorn of all true prophecy in old days; true prophecy has long been fully
revenged. Similar justice, also, has long been measured out to the once
despised evangelists and apostles, and to that equally despised Master whom
they obeyed. In proof of this you have only to consider that no greater praise
can now be given to any man, than to say his conduct is truly apostolical, or
his character really Christian. It is nothing that, in short, but the old
proverb, “Magna est veritas, et praevalebit.” A true message from heaven has
heavenly resources behind it. It is like a bank with very large liabilities,
but with assets much larger still. Consequently, whatever it dares, it can do;
whatever the doubts, and surmises, and panic, it can meet them all with a
smile. We may apply this as an excellent test of the various religions of the
world. There are some that make no pretensions, that do not oppose men’s
desires, nor perplex their minds, nor offend their prejudices. That is
condemnation enough by itself. God would hardly have sent us a message which we
could have devised for ourselves. There are other religions which are all
pretensions; which go on shouting for centuries that the Diana they worship is
very great; and which are perpetually
singing in chorus, We are right, and you are wrong, we are saved, and you are
lost; but without any real proof of it all. Such religions offer no reason, and
so require no reply. They are simply gigantic systems of self-praise; and it is
no recommendation to them. These are not the marks of the true message--“If I
honour myself, my honour is nothing.” (Homilist.)
Verse
20
The driving is like the driving of Jehu.
Religious fanaticism
Jehu was a religious fanatic; his whole nature was on fire with
indignation against the idolatry in his country under the reign of King Joram.
We may take this man’s history to illustrate some of the worst features of
fanaticism.
I. It “driveth furiously,”
with a heartless disregard to the lives of all who differ from it. What eared
Jehu for the lives of those who differed from him in religious opinion?
Nothing. What do your religious fanatics, who often assemble in thousands to
hoot Out their impious crudities, care for the bodily interests, health, or
life of those who differ from them? Religious fanaticism is essentially cruel.
II. It “driveth furiously,” with an ostentatious
spirit. “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord” (2 Kings 10:16). Jehu really did not
care “for the Lord “ or for true theology. He cared only for
himself--self-display, self-glory. Fanaticism is essentially ostentations. It
creates a morbid hunger for the applause of men. It will itinerate the country,
have preachments every day of the week, prayer-meetings all the day, and drive
“furiously” on; but it will take good care to have the whole set forth in
puffing advertisements and paraded in all the prints of the so-called
“Christian world.” “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.” How unlike the
true ministry of heaven, which does not cause its voice to be heard in the
street, which does its world silently as the sunbeam.
III. It “driveth furiously”
under the cover of pretence. This Jehu resolved to destroy all the worshippers
of Baal; but how did he set to work in order to accomplish this end? Not in a
straightforward way. Inspiration tells us, “Jehu did it in subtilty.” There is
a somewhat popular impression, that fanaticism is always sincere. This is a
mistake; as a rule, it is a lying thing. As it works by falsehood, so it works
under its cover. “Fanaticism,” says Professor Lange, “dissolves all the bonds
of life and love, but imputes the blame of it to faith. It leads a man to acts
of betrayal, of rebellion, and of murder, while he imagines that he is offering
sacrifices acceptable to God. It institutes a community of hatred, in opposition
to the community of love, and treats the fire of hell as if it were sacred. It
appears in the guise of religion, but for the purpose of banishing Christ and
His Gospel from the earth.” Conclusion:--Infer not that because a minister, a
community, or a Church are driving furiously in religious work, that they are
religious. Genuine religion is a life, not a passion; it is a river, silent and
constant as the stars, not a flood rushing and roaring for the hour. (Homilist.)
Going ahead
Jehu has been dead many a long century now, but he has always had
his successors; and probably they are more numerous to-day than ever. Among the
young men of our day this “go-ahead” character is very common. Nor do I feel
disposed to check it. Our tirades demand it. We are living in an age of
lightning. It teems with revolutions every hour. Art, science, and commercial
enterprises advance with inconceivable velocity. What was, not long since, the
dreary journey of a week, is now a delightful excursion of a few hours; and
young men feel that if they are to keep pace with the times, they must possess
the go-ahead spirit of Jehu. This I do not condemn. Idleness leads to the
greatest prodigality. But what I wish to do to-night is this--exhort you to
mind that your zeal is guided by wisdom and prudence. You are zealous; but is
your zeal directed to right ends? A misdirected zeal is like a sword in a
madman’s hand. There are numbers, who, with their go-ahead spirit, have found
themselves in our gaols, or lying in our hospitals, with the wasting hand of
disease inflicting upon them its awful torments. And, alas, they themselves are
not the only sufferers. Look on those who wait on their footsteps, with muffled
faces and sable garments. That is a father, and that is a mother, whose grey hairs
are coming with sorrow to the grave. To all furious drivers I would say--
I. First, pull up. I have
read somewhere, of a horse rushing down a country village, with nostrils
distended, and with fire flashing from his heels, yet without driver or hand to
guide him. He was dragging behind him a cart, in which was a child, who clung
to its side in pale terror. A woman, as it passed, shot from her doorway, like
an arrow from its bowstring, and followed in full pursuit, crying, “Save that
child! save that child!” Why did she run and cry thus? Oh, you say, “It was her
child.” No, it was not. She had left her own little ones all safe around her
hearth; but she had a heart above that selfishness which would care only for
its own. That child had a mother, but she was not there, the good woman would
take her place--one of her children might want help some day. Imbued, I trust,
with the unselfish spirit of this woman, we seek to-night to check the speed of
those fiery passions which are dragging some of you to death. You are probably
unknown to us; but have you not a mother who loves you, a mother who prays for
you? You have been going ahead bravely of late, you think. You rightly judge
life to be short, and you feel that if you are to enjoy life, you had better be
quick about it; if you are to get a fortune you had better keep a sharp
lookout. Yes, this is all very well, but where will this pleasure-seeking lead
you? It may be, in your haste to get money, you do not scruple to be a little
dishonest. “Anyhow, by hook or by crook,” you say, “I mean to go ahead.” Yes,
but where will this furious driving lead you? Perhaps you have never thought of
this. You don’t know where you are going. I believe more young men are ruined
for the want of thought, than aught else.
II. Now I want you to turn
round. You feel to-night you have been going ahead on the wrong road. You have
determined, as God shall help you, to pull up. But remember, pulling up is only
part of the business. You have been on the wrong road; you now want the right. The
first thing you need is a new heart. You need the power of the Holy Spirit to
convert you. I shall have no faith in your fine resolutions to give up evil
habits, evil companions, and pleasure-seeking, unless you have implanted within
you new principles. Wind and tide will be against you. In your own strength you
may pull until your veins stand like whipcord upon your brow, and you will go
down the stream still: And even suppose you should be able to give up the
grosset forms of sin, yet, without religion, you must feel when you come to die
that, after all, your life has been a failure. Let me urge you, therefore, to
seek salvation through Christ.
III. Now, go ahead. I must now
assume that you have decided for Christ, united yourself with Christian companions
and a Christian Church. At any rate, many young men here have done that; so
that the advice I am about to give cannot be deemed impracticable. In common
sense, Christian young men, this go-ahead spirit is very desirable; desirable
even from a business point of view. We are commanded to “be diligent in
business.” If you are in business for yourself, seek, in every true and honest
way, to augment your income. In doing so, you will have God’s blessing upon
you. Do not be miserly, do not be covetous; but do seek, by dint of plodding
perseverance, and constant attention to business, to rise in the world. (W.
Williams.)
Scorchers
The “scorcher,” as he is commonly understood in bicycle parlance,
is a rider who is determined to have his own way and his own good time on the
road, though he endanger the happiness and even life and limb of hundreds of
other riders. He is certainly a nuisance and a despicable character. Alas!
there are scorchers in other departments of life than bicycle riding. The
scorcher in business or social or religious circles is just as mean and
dangerous a character as when going at breakneck speed down the road on his
wheel. The scorcher is such because of his selfishness. It is the work of
Christianity to eleminate the scorcher, and bring in the “brother” in his
place. The proverb of the scorcher is, “Every man for himself, and the devil
take the hindermost.” The law of the brother is, “Bear ye one another’s burdens
and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (L. A. Banks, D. D.)
Verse
22
Is it peace?
No peace out of Christ
The sovereignty of God is apparent in all His dealings with the
children of men. He putteth down one and setteth up another. He killeth and
maketh alive. He doeth what He pleases in the armies of heaven, and among the
inhabitants of the earth. He giveth no account of any of His ways, nor may any
one inquire, What doest thou? Still, “justice and judgment are the habitation
of His throne,” and we are sure that in all His dispensations, however
mysterious to us, “the Judge of all the earth will do right.” It is “by Him
kings reign and princes decree justice.” All this is evidenced in the case of
Jehu, whose exaltation to the throne of Israel is described in the former part
of this interesting chapter (2 Kings 9:1-10).
I. That there is no peace to
be found in the ways of sin. In prosecution of the inquiry in our text, ask--
1. The open sinner. Sinner, hast thou peace? Ask Adam and Eve, when
they had eaten of the forbidden fruit. Look at Achan who saw among the spoils
of the enemy a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver,
and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, and coveted them, and took them,
and hid them in the earth in the midst of his tent and the silver under it. “Is
it peace, Achan?” When Zimri slew Elah the son of Baasha, King of Israel, and
usurped his throne, had Zimri “peace” who slew this master? (1 Kings 15:10). Look at Belshazzar at
his impious feast (Daniel 5:9); here was the very
height of human enjoyment; but a guilty conscience spoiled all. Look at aul,
King of Israel; hear his bitter cry, “I am sore distresed; for the Philistines
make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more” (1 Samuel 28:15). Had he peace? Peace had
fled from him.
2. Ask the formalist--resting in a round of duties, having the form
of godliness, but destitute of its power. There may be a pharisaical spirit--a
self-satisfaction “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men” (Luke 18:11), but “is it peace?”
3. Ask the unconverted, under his most favourable circumstances; and
though we do not deny that there may be a momentary gratification,--what are
termed by the apostle, The pleasures of sin for a season, Is there peace? Some,
indeed, have a false peace, are “at ease in their sins”--but this is
carelessness and indifference rather than “peace.”
4. But this question may be asked of many, who have even sought peace
for their souls, but sought it in the wrong way, by unhallowed means. Many are
the ingenious devices of Satan, for blinding the minds of his captives, and
keeping his goods “in peace.” Hence his ministers are said to “daub with
untempered mortar,” and to “cry, Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14; Ezekiel 13:10). Is peace then banished
from the earth? far from it; the Holy Scriptures make known unto us “the way of
peace,” which unconverted men have never known (Romans 8:17). “Christ is our peace” (Micah 5:5; Ephesians 2:1-22; Isaiah 9:6). And though peace is
only to be found in Him, here is solid, abiding, soul-satisfying peace. And
this leads me to
II. Show that true, permanent
peace is to be obtained only through an experimental knowledge of God in Christ
Jesus, through the Spirit, “Preaching peace by Jesus Christ, who is described
in the Word of inspiration as the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). And here we may remark,
that the believer has--
1. Peace with God.
2. The believer has peace of conscience--peace of mind,--rest for his
soul.
3. He enjoys peace with others, for when a man’s ways please the
Lord, He maketh even His enemies to be at peace with Him. And what are the
properties of this peace? Let the Scriptures declare (Romans 14:17-18). “A peace of God, which
passeth all understanding,” which “the world can neither give, nor take away”;
which is perfectly independent of all the vicissitudes of this changing world.
And this peace is enjoyed through faith in the Redeemer. It is peace and joy
“in believing.” Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on
Thee, because he trusteth in Thee (Isaiah 26:3). Peace under all
circumstances;--“Say ye to the righteous it shall be well with him” (Isaiah 3:16), in sickness and health;
in prosperity and adversity; in poverty and riches; in life, in death, and
through all eternity. (R. Simpson, M. A.)
Verse
24
And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength.
Aimlessness
The frivolous, purposeless lives of this world are like ships at
the mercy of the wind and tide. Hail one of them, and ask, “Whither are you
bound?” and the answer will be, “I don’t know.” “What cargo do you carry?”
“Nothing.” “Well, what are you doing out here on the ocean of life?” “Only
drifting.” “Ah! but you don’t know what a sorry spectacle you make only
drifting when there is
so much to be done.” It is said that Carlyle, on one of his daily walks, met a
young man, and, falling into conversation with him, inquired about his purpose
in life. “I haven’t any particular purpose,” came the reply. “Then get one,”
exclaimed the stern old man, striking his cane on the pavement--“get one
quick.” (Homiletic Review.)
Verse 31
Had Zimri peace, who slew
his master?
Divine purposes and human
agencies
These are not the words of
the Spirit of God, but of that wicked witch Jezebel, wife of the idolatrous Ahab.
Nevertheless, there is a truth implied in them which it shall be our present
business to expound and illustrate. “Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?”
What did she mean by this? The answer is in the story of Zimri told in the
sixteenth chapter of the first Book of Kings. Elah, son of Baasha, has reigned
over Israel but two years, when in a drunken revel, in the house of his
steward, he is slain by Zimri, captain of half his chariots, and his throne
usurped by the traitor who had thus shed his blood. But for Zimri there is
indeed no peace; the seven days of his reign are days of terror and of blood.
Tirzah is speedily besieged by the army under Omri which hastens from
Gibbethon; and when Zimri sees that his usurped power is gone, he betakes
himself to the palace, where, kindling a fire around him, he perishes in the
midst of the flames. That Divine purposes are sometimes accomplished by wicked
agents; but that this in nowise excuses the agents themselves, or shields them
from merited punishment.
I. By many facts
in human history.
1. Look at facts in the history of nations.
2. Look at facts in the history of individuals.
There is Jacob concerning
whose relation to Esau the prophecy stands that “the elder shall serve the
younger”; yet how utterly detestable the means;--the lies, the trickery, the
fraud, by which the end is attained, for the purposes of God I have respect,
and I know that they shall stand, but for the means used by Jacob and his
mother, I have the utmost abhorrence and contempt.
II. In the great
central fact of Christianity. I mean the Crucifixion of the Lord. Here, the
divinest purpose works itself out by the most satanic agency. The noblest deed
of love ever wrought by the great God of love Himself, combines with the
meanest, foulest, deed of hatred, ever wrought by man, in the great agony of
the Cross. “Him,” says Peter, “being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” And yet one
step further--“I wot that through ignorance ye did it.” So that here the chosen
channels through which Divine wisdom and Divine love pour themselves upon us
are human ignorance and wickedness! “O the depth of the riches,” etc. And here,
I merely remark, that to the sentence,which states the principle we are
discussing, I might add another member:--namely, That if those wicked agents
who, consciously or unconsciously carry out Divine purposes, repent of their
sin, they are not excluded from participation in the good they have been
instrumentally, and sinfully, accomplishing.
III. In the
dissemination of the gospel. Means in themselves inconsistent with the spirit
of the Gospel, are in the order of Divine providence, indirectly employed. (J.
W. Lance.)
Verse 37
And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the
field.
The fruits of perfect sin
1. Jezebel’s is the character of one complete in evil. She enters the
stage of human events in the fulness of her wickedness. She does not come
before our notice till she has passed through all the stages of early
conviction, strife with conscience, and sometimes of the warnings of a better
nature. She is one whom savages would pronounce wicked, and from whom they would
start as a dangerous member of even their social body. There are some who are
brought before us in this way in life, as if the curtain were suddenly drawn
up, and they were presented to the eye for the first time in their full
development. We have been allowed to see none of the inward workings, none of
the early struggle and strife. All this has gone on between themselves and God
alone. His eye only has noticed, and His hand recorded the gages, challenges,
and contests between the tempter and the sinner. We see but the end of the
conflict. We perceive only the conqueror standing forward flushed with his
success, and the ranks of the vanquished receding into the far distance on
either side, like the forms of beautiful dreams scared by the breaking in of
morning light. In the great portrait gallery of Holy Scripture no one is found
exactly like her. She stands individually distinctive and terrible.
2. Here is her history. Ahab is mentioned as coming to the throne of
Samaria nine hundred and eighteen years before Christ. The marriage with
Jezebel is mentioned as a decided step in evil in Ahab, and is clearly
connected with his idolatry. The next mention of her is her desire and effort
to kill all the prophets of the Lord, and Obadiah’s success in saving them.
Then came the denunciation of God upon Jezebel, and the prophecy of her being
eaten of dogs in the portion of Jezreel There is a pause in her history, and we
hear no more of the queen-mother during the reign of Ahab’s successor. The
wicked king had sunk to his doomed grave. But she, the author and abettor of
his sinfulness, lived on. Her end is the next and last circumstance of her
life; very terrible. She comes out again with her old characteristic. The long
pause in which she has been withdrawn from observation has made no change in
her character save to stereotype all old failings, and gnarl into her form the
sins of her earlier days. Shameless and barefaced in her iniquity, she looked
out for admiration from the very man who was returning as a conqueror over her
husband’s race.
3. There are certain features which belong to the thoroughly wicked
person, and the approach to those characteristics may always excite alarm and
anxiety. The principal points about Jezebel are these. A woman holding an evil
influence over her husband, and turning her pertinacity and vigour of practical
energy and power into the pursuit of the line in which the man hesitated. The
wicked woman has an energy of evil which makes her far worse than the man. Her
persecution of God and good men. Her casting in her lot with the wicked and the
profligate. Her unflinching and unhesitating profligacy in the destruction of
Naboth. Her raillery of the king. Her vanity overcoming in the end of life all
other feelings, natural or not.
──《The Biblical Illustrator》