Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 10:29
Howbeit [from] the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, [to wit], the golden calves that [were] in Bethel, and that [were] in Dan.
29. who [R.V. wherewith he ] made Israel to sin ] See above on 2Ki 2:3. The same change is to be made in verse 31.
golden calves that were] From 1Ki 12:28-29, we see that only one image was in each place.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To abolish the calf-worship was a thought which had probably never occurred to Jehu. He had religious feeling enough, and patriotism enough, to detest the utterly debasing Astarte worship; but the pure worship of Yahweh was altogether beyond and above him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jehu departed not from after them: herein he discovers his hypocrisy, that he follows God as far as his interest would permit; namely, in destroying the house of Ahab, and the worship of Baal, but no further; for he still resolves to keep up the worship of the calves; partly lest he should disoblige and irritate his own nobles and subjects, who had been long inured, and were heartily affected to it; and partly lest he should open a door for his people to return to their obedience to the house of David. And his sin and folly is the more inexcusable, both because he durst not trust that God with the keeping of his kingdom, of whose power, and faithfulness, and kindness to him he had such ample experience in his giving him the kingdom; and because he had so great and uncontrollable a power in the matters of religion; having first pretended, and seemed to set up, the worship of Baal with all his might, and then destroying it with no less vehemency, none daring to mutter against him in either case; and because the house of David, and kingdom of Judah, his competitor, now was, and was likely to be, in a feeble and declining condition, and much more likely to fall into his hands, than that his kingdom should come into theirs.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
29. Howbeit from the sins ofJeroboam . . . Jehu departed not from after themJehu had nointention of carrying his zeal for the Lord beyond a certain point,and as he considered it impolitic to encourage his subjects to travelto Jerusalem, he re-established the symbolic worship of the calves.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin,…. Which is the common character given of that king, a blot never to be wiped off:
Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan: he did not abstain from the worship of them, partly because he might not think it idolatry, because God was worshipped in them; hence he calls the worshippers of the calves the servants of the Lord, 2Ki 10:23, and partly that he might not displease the princes of the people of Israel, who generally gave in to the worship of them; but chiefly lest the kingdom of Israel should return to the house of David, the worship of the calves being a piece of state policy, to keep them from going to Jerusalem to worship, lest thereby they should be drawn off from their allegiance to the king of Israel.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Jehu’s Inconsistency. | B. C. 884. |
29 Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan. 30 And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. 31 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, which made Israel to sin. 32 In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel; 33 From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and 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 And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.
Here is all the account of the reign of Jehu, though it continued twenty-eight years. The progress of it answered not to the glory of its beginning. We have here,
I. God’s approbation of what Jehu had done. Many, it is probable, censured him as treacherous and barbarous–called him a rebel, a usurper, a murderer, and prognosticated ill concerning him, that a family thus raised would soon be ruined; but God said, Well done (v. 30), and then it signified little who said otherwise. 1. God pronounced that to be right which he had done. It is justly questionable whether he did it from a good principle and whether he did not take some false steps in the doing of it; and yet (says God), Thou hast done well in executing that which is right in my eyes. The extirpating of idolaters and idolatry was a thing right in God’s eyes, for it is an iniquity he visits as surely and severely as any: it was according to all that was in his heart, all he desired, all he designed. Jehu went through with his work. 2. God promised him a reward, that his children of the fourth generation from him should sit upon the throne of Israel. This was more than what took place in any of the dignities or royal families of that kingdom; of the house of Ahab there were indeed four kings, Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, and Joram, but the last two were brothers, so that it reached but to the third generation, and that whole family continued but about forty-five years in all, whereas Jehu’s continued in four, besides himself, and in all about 120 years. Note, No services done for God shall go unrewarded.
II. Jehu’s carelessness in what he was further to do. By this it appeared that his heart was not right with God, that he was partial in his reformation. 1. He did not put away all the evil. He departed from the sins of Ahab, but not from the sins of Jeroboam–discarded Baal, but adhered to the calves. The worship of Baal was indeed the greater evil, and more heinous in the sight of God, but the worship of the calves was a great evil, and true conversion is not only from gross sin, but from all sin–not only from false gods, but from false worships. The worship of Baal weakened and diminished Israel, and made them beholden to the Sidonians, and therefore he could easily part with that; but the worship of the calves was a politic idolatry, was begun and kept up for reasons of state, to prevent the return of the ten tribes to the house of David, and therefore Jehu clave to that. True conversion is not only from wasteful sins, but from gainful sins–not only from those sins that are destructive to the secular interest, but from those that support and befriend it, in forsaking which is the great trial whether we can deny ourselves and trust God. 2. He put away evil, but he did not mind that which was good (v. 31): He took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel. He abolished the worship of Baal, but did not keep up the worship of God, nor walk in his law. He had shown great care and zeal for the rooting out of a false religion; but in the true religion, (1.) He showed no care, took no heed, lived at large, was not at all solicitous to please God and to do his duty, took no heed to the scriptures, to the prophets, to his own conscience, but walked at all adventures. Those that are heedless, it is to be feared, are graceless; for, where there is a good principle in the heart, it will make men cautious and circumspect, desirous to please God and jealous of doing any thing to offend him. (2.) He showed no zeal; what he did in religion he did not do with his heart, with all his heart, but did it as if he did it not, without any liveliness or concern. It seems, he was a man that had little religion himself, and yet God made use of him as an instrument of reformation in Israel. It is a pity but that those that do good to others should always be good themselves.
III. The judgment that came upon Israel in his reign. We have reason to fear that when Jehu took no heed himself to walk in God’s law the people were generally as careless as he, both in their devotions and in their conversations. There was a general decay of piety and increase of profaneness; and therefore it is not strange that the next news we hear is, In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short, v. 32. Their neighbours encroached upon them on every side; they were short in their duty to God, and therefore God cut them short in their extent, wealth, and power. Hazael king of Syria was, above any other, vexatious and mischievous to them, smote them in all the coasts of Israel, particularly the countries on the other side Jordan, which lay next him, and most exposed; on these he made continual inroads, and laid them waste. Now the Reubenites and Gadites smarted for the choice which their ancestors made of an inheritance on that side Jordan, which Moses reproved them for, Num. xxxii. Now Hazael did what Elisha foresaw and foretold he would do. Yet, for doing it, God had a quarrel with him and with his kingdom, as we may find, Amo 1:3; Amo 1:4. Because those of Damascus have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron, therefore (says God) I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.
Lastly, The conclusion of Jehu’s reign, v. 34-36. Notice is taken, in general, of his might; but, because he took no heed to serve God, the memorials of his mighty enterprises and achievements are justly buried in oblivion.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Jehu’s Evil Reign – Verses 29-36
“The sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin!”
These awful words are a repetitious refrain with reference to every one of the kings of the northern kingdom after Jeroboam. What an awful legacy and memorial Jeroboam left behind him! Not one worshipper of the Lord among the many kings who sat on the throne of the kingdom of Israel from Jeroboam onward. Not even Jehu, who so perfectly understood the will of the Lord in exterminating the family of Ahab and the Baal worship, would worship the Lord. It would seem that he, surely, would have so recognized the Lord as to promote His worship. Likely he called himself worshipping the Lord in the restoration of the calf worship, but so did Jeroboam himself think. But God was highly displeased with that set-up.
Yet the Lord pronounced a special blessing on Jehu and his dynasty. Because he fulfilled the Lord’s will in chastising the wickedness of Israel the Lord promised that his dynasty would continue for four generations. It did, and thus became the longest-lasting dynasty of all those in the northern kingdom. His line ran from Jehu through Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam II, and ended in Zechariah, who was assassinated to end it. But Jehu’s sad epitaph still is, “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.” He revived the worship of the calves at Bethel in the south and Dan in the north.
The Lord chastised Jehu and Israel, for they knew to do good and did it not (Jas 4:17). All the territory east of the Jordan River was lost to Hazael the king of Damascus. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh were cut off from Israel, from the city of Aroer on the bank of the Arnon, at Reuben’s southern border north through Gilead to Bashan. Jehu reigned long, twenty-eight years, but in the end Israel was weakened by these severe losses in spite of his great valor and leadership ability. He was buried with honor in the capital city of Samaria, and was succeeded by his son, Jehoahaz. Eventually the sins of Jehu and his bloody deeds were avenged by the Lord also. This occurred in the assassination of his great-great grandson, Zechariah, foretold in the long reign of his great grandson, Jeroboam II (see Hos 1:4,).
Learn these lessons: 1) those who serve the world and self are usually prone to follow the course of least resistance; 2) evil associations beget evil consequences; 3) the giving of one’s hand in a matter should be as binding as word of the mouth; 4) zeal, though commendable, may be carried to excessive deeds; 5) deceit is never right for God’s children though used to accomplish an apparently good purpose; 6) men continually, knowingly, walk contrary to the will of God, inviting His certain judgment.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.
2Ki. 10:29. The golden calves that were in BethelPolitical reasons led to the origin of calf-worship (1Ki. 12:28), and doubtless for political reasons Jehu continued it.
2Ki. 10:32. To cut Israel shortInstead of , to cut off from, the Targum and others read , to be enraged, wrath. In all the coasts of Israeli.e., along the entire frontier, the land beyond Jordan belonging to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.W. H. J.
HOMILETICS OF 2Ki. 10:29-36
THE IMPERFECTIONS OF A GREAT REFORMING WORK
THE fearless and energetic efforts of Jehu at the beginning of his reign, while they filled many with dismay, excited in others the highest hopes. There were the hidden ones, the secret worshippers of Jehovah, who mourned over the degeneracy of the times, and sighed and prayed for a brighter day to dawn. It seemed as if their prayers were heard, and they recognised in the man who had dealt such fierce and summary justice to the adherents of Baal, one who would again establish the worship of Jehovah, and thus save the nation from the whirlpool of ruin into which it was rapidly sinking. It was therefore a bitter disappointment to all lovers of the truth when Jehu stayed his reforming hand, and gave his public sanction to the calf-worship of Jeroboam, putting back the nation to where it was ninety years before. The paragraph suggests the imperfections of a great reforming work.
I. That reform is imperfect when it does not thoroughly root out the evil against which it is directed (2Ki. 10:29). If the worship of the golden calves was not so gross as that of Baal, still it was idolatry, and as such should have been abolished. It was a standing insult to Jehovah, a violation of the Divine law, and a source of moral enfeeblement to the people, weighing upon them like chains of habit which are generally too small to be felt till they are too strong to be broken. It was an opportunity for Jehu to rid the nation once and for ever of the terrible curse. The hand that struck down Baal could also crush the calves of Dan and Bethel It was here the reformer failed; his work was ineffectual because it lacked thoroughness. Half reforms are always unsatisfactory. An admitted evil can be cured only by complete eradication.
II. That reform is commendable as far as it goes (2Ki. 10:30).
1. It has the Divine approval. The Lord said unto Jehu, thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes. Every attempt at reformation is encouraged by the Divine favour. It is this that sustains the courage of the reformer in the midst of formidable difficulties. We may well hesitate to touch any work of reformation that has not the Divine sanction, and on which we cannot ask the Divine blessing. Jehu was an instrument of Divine vengeance on the house of Ahab, and was commended so far as he carried out his commission.
2. It has the Divine reward. Thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. This was a favour not vouchsafed to any other king of Israel since the division of the kingdom. Lange supposes that the succession is limited to the fourth generation because Jehu still retained the calf worship; but we prefer the prima facie teaching of the text, which clearly indicates a promise of reward, rather than a threat of limitation. God will not be indebted to any man, nor shall those who do or suffer aught for Him complain of a hard bargain. The final reward of the Christian victor will be to share the throne and honours of his Lord (Rev. 3:21).
III. That reform is imperfect when it is not personal and sincere (2Ki. 10:31). Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart. It was not with him so much a question of religion as of politics. He was not anxious first to have his own heart right with God, and to render sincere obedience to His law, as he was to secure a firm footing as king, and to compel obedience to his authority. Jehu, as Kitto justly remarks, was one of those decisive, terrible, ambitious yet prudent, calculating, passionless men whom God from time to time raises up to change the fate of empires, and to execute His judgments on the earth. He boasted of his zealCome and see my zeal for the Lordbut at the bottom, it was zeal for Jehu. His zeal was great so long as it led to acts which squared with his own interests, but it cooled marvellously when required to take a direction in his judgment less favourable to them. All true and permanent reformation begins with the individual. If the heart be renewed, the whole man is reformed: the heart right with God is the motive-force that effects all necessary outward reformation.
IV. That reform is imperfect when it is not national and general (2Ki. 10:32-33). Had the nation been wholly delivered from idolatry, neither Hazael nor any other enemy would have been permitted to invade the kingdom and harass the people. The national spirit was broken, its prestige dimmed, even the love of fatherland was not strong enough to bind all the people together to resist and repel invasion. In the latter part of Jehus reign, Israel began to suffer those fearful punishments of invasion and conquest from the North and North East, which finally ended in the total captivity of the land. Jehus name occurs on the Assyrian monuments among others who paid tribute to the king of Assyria, and Rawlinson inclines to the opinion that from this date both the Jewish and the Israelitish kings held their crowns as fiefs, dependent on the will of the Assyrian monarch, with whom it formally lay to confirm each new prince in his kingdom (chap. 2Ki. 14:5). Partial and incomplete reforms always leave elements of weakness and discord behind them. When a nation is united in acknowledging and serving God, it is invincible; it is respected and feared by its enemies.
V. That reform is imperfect when it is employed for selfish ends (2Ki. 10:34-36). Jehu carried on the revolution, and wrought out reforms with an Iron hand, to serve his own purposesthat he might reign securely and peacefullymight acquire fame and powermight establish his throne for years, and be able to leave his own son in unquestioned and undisturbed possession of the kingdom. He reigned longer than any of his predecessors, and his successors reigned seventy-six years. If his zeal and ambition were expended in founding a royal dynasty, he gained his end; but that was all he did gain. The nation was not permanently benefited, nor was it long arrested in its downfall. It destroys the dignity and efficacy of reform when it is carried on from selfish motives; and yet God can work out His just retribution upon evil-doers through the violence and selfishness of human passions.
LESSONS:
1. It is a solemn responsibility to be a public reformer.
2. It is disappointing and disastrous when reform is not radical.
3. Every step of reform in the right direction is pleasing to God, and shall not go unrewarded.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
2Ki. 10:29-33. Jehu is a type of those who show great zeal in tearing down and destroying superstition and false worship, but do nothing to build up the faith, because they themselves have no living faith, and do not walk before God with all their hearts. Jehu did indeed destroy idolatry, but he did not touch the chief sin of Israel, because he considered it the chief support of his own authority. So many a one renounces gross, external sins, but will not think of denying himself, of sacrificing his own interests, and of turning his heart to the living God. He who remains standing half-way goes backward in spite of himself. Jehu would not desist from the sins of Jeroboam because he thought it would cost him his crown, but on that very account he lost one province after another.Lange.
2Ki. 10:29. The exigencies of government.
1. Cannot ignore the influence of religion upon a people.
2. Will sanction an imperfect religion rather than lose power.
3. In danger of placing politics and dynastic interests above religious reformation.
2Ki. 10:30. Zachariah, of the fourth generation, was slain by Shallum, and thus was this word of the Lord fulfilled (compare chap. 2Ki. 15:12); and thus, too, according to the prophecy of Hosea (2Ki. 1:4), did the Lord avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu. For when the minister of Divine judgment himself turned to idolatry, the very blood of his guilty victims might well call for vengeance on him for doing the same things for which he had executed the Divine judgment on them (Rom. 2:1).Whedon.
The strict impartiality of Divine Justice.
1. Recognises and commends what is good in the worst characters.
2. Apportions to every action its exact measure of reward.
3. Does not interfere with the exercise of individual freedom.
Jehu first receives praise for the work which he has done, and afterwards is denounced, in his posterity at least, for the same action (compare 2Ki. 10:30 and Hos. 1:4). The first of these two points throws much light upon the second. The defection of Jehu showed that he had other ends in view than the pleasing of God Personal ambition had been at the bottom of his heart, and he had destroyed that form of idolatry which was identified with the house of Ahab. But having achieved his end, he took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord. The vengeance which had fallen upon Ahabs house had been the righteous retribution upon Ahabs sins; but the executioner gloated over and rejoiced in his work. He had his reward in the establishment of his dynasty for four generations. What was righteous in his spirithis steadiness of purpose and hatred of injusticeall this God blessed. But the brutal ferocity, the remorseless indifference to agony and bloodshed, these evil elements prevailed over the better, and when the fire against Baal had burnt itself out for want of fuel, nought was left but dull ashes. His zeal for righteousness did not turn inwards and burn up his own sins. When there was nothing left to destroy, his occupation was gone. The same thirst for blood which had marked him, passed down, a ghastly bequeathment, to his children, and brought the Divine curse upon them.The Bible Educator.
2Ki. 10:31. The seductive power of unbelief.
1. Arrests and paralyzes the efforts of the most zealous reformers.
2. Creates indifference to the most sublime revelations of Gods word.
3. Unfits the soul for the highest spiritual experiences.
4. Leads to the practice of the basest idolatry.
It is an entire goodness that God cares for. Perhaps, such is the bounty of our God, a partial obedience may be rewarded with a temporal blessing, as Jehus severity to Ahab shall carry the crown to his seed for four generations; but we can never have any comfortable assurance of an eternal retribution if our hearts and ways be not perfect with God. Woe be to us, O God, if we be not all thine! We cannot but everlastingly depart from Thee, if we depart not from every sin. Thou hast purged our hearts from the Baal of our gross idolatries. O clear us from the golden calves of our petty corruptions, also that Thou mayst take pleasure in our uprightness, and we may reap the sweet comforts of Thy glorious remuneration!Bp. Hall.
2Ki. 10:32-33. National apostacy from God.
1. Will be Divinely punished.
2. Leaves the nation a prey to violent enemies.
3. Brings national loss and degradation.
The reign of Jehu closed in disaster. The Syrian invasion, from combating which he had hastened on becoming king, had been vigorously pushed forward by Hazael, and was now successful. The whole country east of Jordan, comprising half of the kingdom of Israel, was wrested away. And this had been done with the accompaniment of horrible cruelty on the part of Hazael (2Ki. 8:12-13). The reign of Jehu, therefore, was one of misery and calamity. He was the first Israelite king, too, who is recorded to have paid tribute to the king of Assyria. But one feature of his reign we must not forget. While he stands before us the one figure in the picture, red-handed and remorseless, we might, at first sight, take him as the embodiment of the whole monarchy and people. But he is not so. There was another emissary of God at work in the kingdom, though his name does not appear, his hand doubtless busy with healing and binding up the broken places. Elisha, the son of Shaphan, was he. Many years afterwards he lay dying, and Jehus grandson came to bid him farewell. My father, cried the king, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof; that is, the defence and protection of the kingdom art thou, and thou art passing away. Joash was hereby confessing the truth that deeds of violence and oppression like Jehus have no power, and leave no advantage, but the Lords delight is in them that fear Him and put their trust in His mercy.The Bible Educator.
The character of Jehu is not difficult to understand, if we take it as a whole, and consider the general impression left us by the Biblical account. He is exactly one of those men whom we are compelled to recognize, not for what is good or great in themselves, but as instruments for destroying evil and preparing the way for good; such as Augustus Csar at Rome, Sultan Mahmond II. in Turkey, or one closer at hand in the revolutions of our own time and neighbourhood. A destiny, long kept in view by himself or othersinscrutable secresy and reserve in carrying out his plansa union of cold, remorseless tenacity, with occasional bursts of furious, wayward, almost fanatical zeal; this is Jehu, as he is set before us in the historical narrative, the worst type of a son of Jacob, the supplanter, as he is called, without the noble and princely qualities of Israelthe most unlovely and the most coldly commended of all the heroes of his country. It is a striking instance of the gradually increasing light, even in the Jewish dispensation, that in the wider and more evangelical revelations of the later prophets the commendation on Jehus acts is repealed. It is declared through the voice of Hosea, that for the blood even of Jezebel and Ahaziah an account must be rendered; I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu (Hos. 1:4). Their blood, like the blood which has been shed again and again in the convulsions of nations and churches, was a righteous retribution, is at last exacted by the just judgment which punishes the wrong-doer, not only of one party in the church or state but of both. And the accursed spot of the ancient dynasty, the very title and site of Jezreel, seemed to draw down upon itself a kind of Divine compassion. The innocent child of the prophet was to bear the name of Jezreel, and the vow of Jehus house was to be broken. in the great day of Jezreel (Hos. 1:4-5; Hos. 1:11). It is the same touching thought of life growing out of death which has so often forced itself on those who have seen the rich harvest springing up out of a battlefield, that out of that time and place of humiliation the name is to go back to its original signification as derived from the beauty and fertility of the rich plain, and to become a pledge of the revived beauty and richness of Israel. I will hear and answer the heavens, and they will hear and answer the earth, and the earth shall hear and answer, and the wine and the oil of that fruitful plain, and they shall hear and answer Jezreel (that is, the seed of God), and I will sow her unto me in the earth. And from this time the image seems to have been continued as a prophetical expression for sowing the blessings of God, and the people of Israel, as it were broadcast, as though the whole of Palestine and the world were to become, in a spiritual sense, one rich plain of Jezreel.Stanley.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(29) Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam.Comp. 1Ki. 12:28, seq., 1Ki. 15:26; 1Ki. 15:30; 1Ki. 15:34. Jehu maintained the worship at Bethel and Dan on the same grounds of state policy as the kings who preceded him.
Howbeit.Only; the word constantly used by the redactor to qualify his estimate of the conduct of the kings. (Comp. 2Ki. 12:3; 2Ki. 14:4; 2Ki. 15:4.) The verse is, therefore, a parenthetic qualification of the approval implied in 2Ki. 10:28.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(29-36) Jehus reign and death.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
JEHU’S SINS, MISFORTUNES, AND DEATH, 2Ki 10:29-36.
29. Howbeit While the Scripture history makes prominent the fact that Jehu was God’s instrument to punish the wicked house of Ahab, and overthrow his dynasty, it conceals not his shortcomings and his sins. Jehu, as Kitto very justly remarks, “was one of those decisive, terrible, ambitious, yet prudent, calculating, and passionless men, whom God from time to time raises up to change the fate of empires and to execute his judgments on the earth. He boasted of his zeal ’Come and see my zeal for the Lord’ but at the bottom it was zeal for Jehu. His zeal was great so long as it led to acts which squared with his own interests, but it cooled marvellously when required to take a direction in his judgment less favourable to them.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
A Summary Of The Reign Of Jehu (841-814/13 BC) And Of His Failure To Respond To YHWH’s Covenant ( 2Ki 10:29-36 ).
While Jehu had certainly removed the worship of the Phoenician Baal (Baal Melqart) from the land, what he failed to do was carry the reforms even wider and also remove the abominations of Jeroboam the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. Thus he lost the opportunity of truly reforming Yahwism. Instead of a strict return to the laws and covenant of YHWH, he allowed the loose ways and ineffectual worship of a Yahwism intermingled with the worship of the local Baal. This served to demonstrate that his activities had not genuinely been carried out because of his real love for YHWH, but simply out of a politically motivated religious zeal.
Analysis.
a
b And YHWH 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, your sons of the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Israel” (2Ki 10:30).
c But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of YHWH, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin (2Ki 10:31).
b In those days YHWH began to cut parts off from Israel, and Hazael smote them in all the borders of Israel, from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan (2Ki 10:32-33).
a 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? And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned instead of him. And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty eight years (2Ki 10:34-36).
Note that in ‘a’ the behaviour of Jehu is described, and in the parallel we are referred for his other behaviour to the chronicles of the kings of Israel. In ‘b’ his reward for what was good in what he did is described, and in the parallel his punishment for what he did that was wrong. Centrally in ‘c’ we have the central verdict on his reign, that he did not walk in the Law of YHWH the God of Israel in that he continued to follow the ways of Jeroboam.
2Ki 10:29
‘However from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, Jehu did not depart from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan.’
The purge that Jehu had carried out had put him in a powerful position for thoroughgoing reform. The nation was behind him and at the same time in awe of him. It was ripe for change. But he stopped short of what to YHWH was the essential requirement for any king of Israel, that he destroy the golden calves at Bethel and Dan and return to true Yahwism, thereby indicating that his loyalty was not truly given to YHWH and His covenant.
Note how this is especially emphasised before the note of commendation. He was to be rewarded for what he had achieved, but with the recognition that he had failed in the main objective. It was thus not unqualified approval.
2Ki 10:30
‘And YHWH 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, your sons of the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Israel.” ’
Jehu was commended by YHWH for bringing his judgment on the house of Ahab, the task to which he had been called, but it will be noted that nothing is said about the further purges. They had not been a part of his remit. And his reward for what he had done was that his dynasty would last for four generations. But that was as gar as it went. There is a deliberate contrast here with the everlasting dynasty of David. Jehu’s was strictly limited. He was not a man after God’s own heart.
2Ki 10:31
‘But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of YHWH, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin.’
Where Jehu failed was in a willingness to follow wholeheartedly after YHWH. He failed to walk in the Law of YHWH, Israel’s true God, with all his heart. He could have called on Elisha and with him worked out how Israel could be brought back to the true way, but instead he turned to the compromised way of Jeroboam. It was politically simpler, but religiously disastrous, for the way of Jeroboam was not the way of the Law of YHWH..
2Ki 10:32-33
‘In those days YHWH began to cut parts off from Israel, and Hazael smote them in all the borders of Israel, from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.’
The result was that YHWH brought grief on Israel with the result that (like Judah under Jehoram) it began to lose part of its kingdom. Hazael, the king of Aram, smote them by invading Transjordan and taking possession of all the land of Israel east of Jordan. This may have been his way of rebuking Jehu for submitting to the king of Assyria rather than entering into an alliance with Hazael against Assyria, who was able for a time to hold out against Assyria, or it may simply have been political opportunism in view of the current weakness of Israel with a view to obtaining control of the trade routes. Either way it robbed Israel of much of its wealth. Transjordan would not finally be recovered until the time of Jeroboam II, the fourth king of Jehu’s dynasty (2Ki 14:25).
The geographical descriptions cover the whole of Israel east of the Jordan right down to Aroer, by the valley of the Arnon River, on the border with Moab. Note the emphasis on the fact that this was the direct activity of YHWH. Powerful king Hazael might be, but he was under YHWH’s command, and unwittingly carrying out His will.
2Ki 10:34
‘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?’
Having summed up Jehu’s reign from the religious standpoint, the prophetic author refers us for further historical detail to the annals of the kings of Israel, which had clearly survived. He was not interested in presenting a strict history of Israel. His concern was with YHWH’s dealings with Israel.
2Ki 10:35
‘And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned instead of him.’
Jehu died peacefully and was buried in Samaria, and Jehoahaz his son reigned instead of him. But it was over a much depleted kingdom. Jehu had turned out to be a failure.
2Ki 10:36
‘And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty eight years.’
The length of the king’s reign is usually given in the introduction to his reign, but in the case of Jehu there had been no introduction. Thus it is given here. So meanwhile Jehu had reigned over Israel for twenty eight years. All, however, that we know about his reign was that it was a missed opportunity. The silence about his secular activities is a strong reminder to us that the only things that are important in life are the things that are genuinely achieved for God. Jehu had had the opportunity to bring Israel back to YHWH, but instead he had been too concerned about his own affairs. How tragic it will be for us also if our lives are so overtaken with compromise and religious half-heartedness that we too fail to serve God faithfully.
Brief Note On Hazael, King Of Aram.
As a young man Hazael had been anointed by Elijah with a view to his future, a reminder that in spite of his later might he was very much a king under YHWH’s control (1Ki 19:15). He came to the throne of Aram in around 843 BC after his interlude with Elisha during which Elisha foresaw the distress that he would bring on Israel (2Ki 8:7-15). In 842 BC he advanced on Ramoth-gilead (2Ki 8:29). This may have been with the aim of bringing Israel into a coalition with himself against the threatening Assyrians under Shalmaneser III, or it may simply have been with a view to securing the trade routes. As we have seen it resulted in the death of Jehoram and the rise of Jehu. But in 841 BC Jehu (with Israel substantially weakened and having necessarily forfeited Israel’s alliances with Tyre and Judah) paid tribute to Shalmaneser III and swore fealty to him. Shalmaneser had invaded Aram and had besieged Hazael in Damascus, but having failed to take Damascus he had moved on, and now took tribute both from Israel and from Tyre. Jehu’s action may well have been instead of entering into an alliance with Hazael, or it may simply have been hurried necessity. Hazael appears to have resisted the Assyrian pressure, forcing them to move on.
The extract from the Black obelisk read as follows:
“In the eighteenth year of my reign I (i.e. Shalmaneser III) crossed the River Euphrates for the sixteenth time. Hazael of Aram put his trust in the numerical strength of his army and called out his army in great numbers. He made Sanir, a mountain peak which stands out in front of Lebanon, his strong position, but I fought with him and defeated him, smiting with weapons sixteen thousand of his experienced troops. I snatched away from him 1,121 of his chariots and 470 of his cavalry horses, together with his baggage train. He fled to save his life but I followed after him and surrounded him in Damascus his capital city. I cut down his plantations and marched as far as the mountains of Hauran (in other words the siege failed so that he eventually moved on). I destroyed, tore down and burned numberless villages, carrying innumerable spoil from them. I marched as far as the mountains of Ba‘ali-rasi, a headland by the sea, and put up on it a representation of my royal person. At that time I received tribute from the people of Tyre, Sidon and from Jehu, son of Omri.”
A superscription then adds, “The tribute of Jehu, the son of Omri. Silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase, golden cups, golden buckets, tin, a staff for the royal hand, puruhati fruits.” This submission by Jehu is actually pictured on an obelisk set up by the Assyrian king in the main square of Nimrud, with ‘Jehu, the son of Omri’ bowing before the king. The tribute was not large and was more in the nature of a token submission.
Hazael again resisted Shalmaneser a few years later, after which Assyria withdrew for a generation, being taken up with other enemies threatening its borders. But having to stand alone may well have been why Hazael felt bitter against Israel, with the subsequent successful invasion of Transjordan consequently taking place, although presumably it was also with a view to taking over the valuable trade routes. We know nothing about any other relations between Hazael and Jehu, which may suggest that Jehu was able to hold his own west of Jordan in spite of the reverses east of Jordan (As is clear above Hazael had been weakened by the Assyrian invasion, giving Jehu time to build up his own strength, even though that was not sufficient for him to be able to defend Transjordan), but Hazael would subsequently continually harass Jehu’s successor, Jehoahaz, finally reducing him to a token fighting force (2Ki 13:3; 2Ki 13:7). He also invaded Gath, as well as robbing Judah of its treasures during the reign of Jehoash (2Ki 12:15). Late in his reign, however, Assyria would return under Adadnirari III and the ageing Hazael would be subdued, and would have to pay him tribute. This was recorded on the Nimrud slab inscription as follows:
Having spoken of the submission of a number of nations including ‘mat-Humri’ (the territory of Omri i.e. Israel) Adadnirari goes on to say “I marched to Aram and shut up Mari’ (Hazael), king of Aram, in Damascus his capital city. The awful splendour of the god Ashur his lord overwhelmed him, and he seized my feet expressing submission. 2,300 talents of silver, 20 talents of gold, 300 talents of copper, 5,000 talents of iron, embroidered linen garments, an ivory bed, a couch embossed and inlaid with ivory, countless of his own goods and possessions I received in his own palace at Damascus, his capital city.”
Thus by the time of his successor Benhadad, Aram had been weakened whilst Israel would have recovered some of its strength.
End of note.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Reign of Jehu
v. 29. Howbeit, v. 30. And the Lord said unto Jehu, v. 31. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the Law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; v. 32. In those days, v. 33. from Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, v. 34. Now, the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, v. 35. And Jehu slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz, his son, reigned in his stead.
v. 36. And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
What a sad account is this! Though Jehu had grace to destroy Baal, he had not virtue to resist the golden calves of idolatry. Alas! what is man in his highest attainments! Oh! dearest Lord Jesus, where shall we look for perfection but to thee! Be thou my righteousness, wisdom, sanctification; for in thee I have all things.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ki 10:29 Howbeit [from] the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, [to wit], the golden calves that [were] in Bethel, and that [were] in Dan.
Ver. 29. Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam Jehu departed not.] Because if he had, it might have cost him his kingdom, to the settling whereof he had a hawk’s eye in all his reformations. Principes regionem potius quam religionem quaerunt, saith Chemnitius. It is said a that Selymus, the great Turk, and Hismael, the Persian, did, under the colour and zeal of their religion, as they would have it, both pretend just causes of war; although their evil dissembled ambitious desires plainly declared unto the world, that they both shot at one and the same mark: namely, by confirming their power and strength, to extend the bounds of their great empires.
a Turk. Hist., fol. 515.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
made Israel to sin. See note on 1Ki 14:16.
to wit = namely.
in Dan. See 1Ki 12:29, 1Ki 12:30, and compare Gen 49:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
am 3120-3148, bc 884-856
the sins: 2Ki 13:2, 2Ki 13:11, 2Ki 14:24, 2Ki 15:9, 2Ki 15:18, 2Ki 15:24, 2Ki 15:28, 2Ki 17:22, 1Ki 12:28-30, 1Ki 13:33, 1Ki 13:34, 1Ki 14:16
made Israel: Gen 20:9, Exo 32:21, 1Sa 2:24, Mar 6:24-26, 1Co 8:9-13, Gal 2:12, Gal 2:13
the golden calves: Exo 32:4, Hos 8:5, Hos 8:6, Hos 10:5, Hos 13:2
in Bethel: 1Ki 12:29
Reciprocal: 2Ki 10:31 – he departed 2Ki 13:6 – departed 2Ch 1:17 – the kings Eze 23:8 – whoredoms Hos 1:4 – and I Hos 8:2 – General Amo 8:14 – sin
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ki 10:29. Jehu departed not from them He was partial in his reformation, and did not put away all the evil, because his heart was not right with God. He departed from the sins of Ahab, but not from the sins of Jeroboam: discarded Baal, but adhered to the calves. The worship of Baal was indeed the greater evil, and more heinous in the sight of God, but the worship of the calves was a great evil; and true religion not only implies conversion from gross sin, but from all sin, and not only from false gods, but from false modes of worshipping the true God. The worship of Baal, being upheld by the house of Ahab, also contributed to uphold that house, the numerous ministers of that idolatry being, of course, engaged to support the family which supported them, and with which they must stand or fall; hence Jehu could easily part with that worship, and labour to destroy it; but the worship of the calves was a politic idolatry, begun and kept up for reasons of state, to prevent the return of the ten tribes to the house of David, and therefore Jehu clave to it. But true religion is not only a conversion from those sins which are hostile to our secular interests, but from those that appear to be friendly to them; in forsaking which is the great trial, whether we can deny ourselves For God, and trust in him.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jehu’s assessment 10:29-36
God blessed Jehu for eliminating the line of Ahab and Baalism. However, Jehu did not go far enough. He allowed the cult of Jeroboam to continue. Furthermore he was not careful to obey the Mosaic Law with all his heart (2Ki 10:31). Consequently, God cut his line off eventually, and Israel lost much Transjordanian territory to Hazael, king of Aram.
"Despite his cometlike beginning, spiritually speaking, Jehu was a falling star, so his reign is largely passed over in silence." [Note: Patterson and Austel, p. 212.]
"Despite his attacks against Baalism, Jehu does not lead the nation into separatist Yahwism. He allows the worship instituted by Jeroboam to continue. In effect, then, he expels the foreign religion (Baalism) in favor of the long-standing Israelite state religion begun by Jeroboam. Apparently he believes reform beyond the elimination of Ahab’s children, Ahab’s wife, and Ahab’s religion, that is, what secures his power, does not concern him. Indeed he acts as the instrument of punishment against the corrupt Omride dynasty, but he does not operate out of Elijah-like motives. Rather, he is, like Syria, Assyria, and Babylon, an instrument that punishes but exhibits few personal moral strengths. Israel is now back to where it was before Ahab and Jezebel assumed leadership, but it has certainly not come back to the Lord." [Note: House, p. 295.]