parresia

II Kings 10:28-36, some commentaryIn

II Kings 10:28-36, some commentary

In the several verses prior to 28 we learn that Jehu, King of Israel, obeyed the word of the Lord which was to execute all Baal worshippers. I would like to comment on is what takes place after Jehu's obedient act. We read:

28 Thus Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel.
29
However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan.
30
The LORD said to Jehu, ""Because you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.''
31
But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.
32
In those days the LORD began to cut off portions from Israel; and Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel:
33
from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the 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 became king in his place.
36
Now the time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

I found it very interesting that King Jehu would go through all the trouble of executing all the Baal worshippers (his method of doing so is certainly worth reading, and his act was not a simple process), only to leave "open for business" so many other false-god temples, alters, and the sort. I thought it a close parallel in our own lives of how we might "eradicate" a major sin in our lives, yet remain defiant, completely obstinate, unwilling to eradicate the "smaller" acts of sin. It is all too easy to pat ourselves on the back for overcoming (to some degree or other) a sin that has for long been an issue of turmoil and stumbling, only to neglect the myriad other sins that we do CONSTANTLY, such that we do them almost without even noticing.
It is not unimportant to point out that God, although pleased in Jehu's act of obedience (in the 'big' thing), did not allow the other ('smaller') areas of disobedience to go on without impunity. We read that because of Jehu's failure to eradicate ALL false worship from Israel, God allowed for many portions of Israel (Jehu's land) to be overtaken by Hazael: Jehu's army being "defeated" time and time again.

In parallel how much does our own sin enslave us to moral "Hazael's"? How do our sins cause other areas of our walk with God to be "defeated"?

My friends, so vital is our obedience to God's law, not to gain favor, nor to improve our standing before God, but because, having been saved, we owe EVERYTHING to God. We are indebted to God, and our disobedience only shows us to be ingrate thieves. Jehu reigned over Israel for just 28 years. How quickly the time must have been spent, and how much regret did Jehu inccur over that period? In our fleeting lives, how many "golden calves" do we have littering our land, going unchecked? Let us flee to God in repentence. Not because we want to be saved, but because we are saved!

Posted by at March 13, 2001 09:14 PM