“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”
Matthew 7:22
Elisha sent one of the prophets to anoint a new king of Israel, Jehu, even while Jehoram was still king. When Jehu was anointed, he was also given a very grave message from God: he was to kill wicked King Ahab’s entire household. He went to Jezreel and killed King Jehoram. He continued by having Jezebel killed. Ahab had 70 sons living in Samaria, and they were also killed. Jehu did not stop there, he continued by killing every Baal worshiper in Israel. He then had all of the images burned, and they broke down the house of Baal. These acts established him as the new king of Israel.
After reading about all of the good that Jehu did, we will find an area in which he miserably failed. This is to be a lesson to us.
The following is an excerpt from The Biblical Path of Life, Year Two Quarter One – Lesson 5:
“Because Jehu obeyed God’s words in destroying the house of Ahab, Jehu’s children would sit upon the throne of Israel until the fourth generation.
“’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‘ (2 Kings 10:29). Nevertheless, Jehu did not walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all of his heart. With all of the good Jehu did for the nation, he did not remove the worship of idols (the golden calves in Bethel and Dan). ‘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‘ (2 Kings 10:31). The words took no heed are quite important. They mean: “to not observe God’s commands; to not keep or guard or protect.”
“’In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short….‘ We notice that the kingdom was not at peace from the enemies around. ‘… And Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel …‘ (2 Kings 10:32).
“Jehu reigned over Israel for 28 years. ‘And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead‘ (2 Kings 10:35).
“A Deeper Path: The words took no heed are the same words as kept not we see in 1 Kings 11:10: ‘And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.‘ Jehu’s sin was the same as King Solomon’s; not keeping that which the Lord commanded — the sin that caused the divided kingdom. Remember … ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life‘ (Proverbs 4:23). Jehu did not have in his heart what needed to complete what he started. Remember back to King David. He wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the city of Jerusalem. Nevertheless, he did it wrong the first time, and Uzzah died. Instead of staying angry with God, David sought God to find out what he had done wrong (see 1 Chronicles 15:13). When he obeyed God’s Word, they brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, rejoicing (see 2 Samuel 6). David sought to please God with all of his heart — and the kings were compared back to him.
“We should learn something very important from Jehu’s life. In spite of all of the good he did for God in the removing of Baal worship in the land of Israel, he did not “guard” his heart. Instead of putting away all idol worship, he kept the form that had previously been established as the worship of God (the golden calves in Dan and Bethel). If he had sought God’s Word, he would have found the truth. Just look at the first two of the Ten Commandments (‘3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing…‘ Exodus 20:3-4a). Notice that Jehu was compared back to King Jeroboam, “which led Israel to sin.”
“When we give our hearts and lives to God (ask Jesus in our hearts), we must do it completely — not keeping any part back for ourselves. We must do it as God commands, not the way we ‘think’ or the way someone tells us. We must look into God’s Word to see what is required.”
Jehu reigned for seventeen years in Israel, and “followed the sins of Jeroboam.” He continued to allow the religious system where they worshiped the golden calves at Dan and Bethel. He was not considered a good king, even with all of the good and obedience he did. He failed to implement into his heart and life what God’s Word taught in order to be pleasing to God. Remember what Jesus declared in the New Testament. “22.Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23). What a warning for us today!
Do you belong to Jesus? Have you allowed Him to change you from the inside out?
Or,
Are you just “doing good things”?