2 Kings 10:1-11

III. THE AFTERMATH OF THE COUP 10:1-27

In chapter 10 the historian discusses some of the consequences of the revolution of 841 B.C. He discusses the bloody massacre of the house of Omri (2 Kings 10:1-11) and of the royal house of Judah (2 Kings 10:12-14). He then inserts a note to show how Jehu gained the support of the more conservative elements of the nation (2 Kings 10:15-17). The chapter reaches its climax in the account of how Jehu deceitfully gathered and then slew the Baal worshipers (2 Kings 10:18-27).

A. THE EXTERMINATION OF THE HOUSE OF OMRI 10:1-11

TRANSLATION

(1) Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent them to Samaria unto the rulers of Jezreel, the elders, and unto those who brought up Ahab's children, saying (2) And now when this letter comes unto you, seeing the sons of your master are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city, and armor; (3) select the best and the most upright of the sons of your master, and set him upon the throne of his father, and fight on behalf of the house of your master. (4) But they feared exceedingly, and said, Behold two kings could not stand before him, how then shall we stand? (5) And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, and the elders, and those who had brought up the children sent unto Jehu, saying, Your servants are we, and whatever you say unto us, we will do. We will not make any man king. Do that which is good in your eyes. (6) And he wrote unto them a second letter, saying, If you are mine, and you hearken to my voice, take the heads of the sons of your master, and come unto me about this tune tomorrow to Jezreel. Now the sons of the king, seventy men, were with the great ones of the city who were bringing them up. (7) And it came to pass when the letter came unto them, that they took the sons of the king, and slew seventy men, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them unto him to Jezreel. (8) And the messenger came, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the sons of the king. And he said, Set them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning. (9) And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said unto all the people, You are righteous. Behold I conspired against my master, and I slew him; but who smote all of these? (10) Know now that there shall fall to the ground nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD has spoken concerning the house of Ahab. The LORD has done that which He spoke by the hand of Elijah his servant. (11) So Jehu smote all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great ones, and his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left none remaining.

COMMENTS

The immediate question after the death of Joram wasWould any member of his family rise up to claim the throne and dispute the succession with Jehu? Ahab had seventy sons, i.e., male descendants, who lived in the capital, Samaria. Jehu decided to take the initiative in dealing with this potential threat. Letters were sent to the elders of the nation[563] and those who had tutored and trained Ahab's sons. In them Jehu taunted and challenged his potential adversaries. The sons of the deceased king, the legitimate heirs to the throne, lived in Samaria. Furthermore, the main chariot force of the country, and the chief arsenal containing both armor and arms were there as well (2 Kings 10:2). Jehu scornfully challenged them to make use of these resources against him. Let them select the boldest and ablest son of Joram, make him king and leader against him. Omri had been able to establish himself on the throne of Israel only after a civil war, and Jehu is fully prepared to fight for the throne if necessary. But he was confident that the garrison at Samaria would not dare to venture forth against the army of Ramoth-gilead which had so recently proclaimed him to be king(2 Kings 10:3).

[563] It is not clear why these elders are called rulers of Jezreel. One would expect here rulers of Samaria which the Septuagint actually reads.

The elders in Samaria were men of peace, and not military commanders. They were intimidated by the scornful and ominous tone of Jehu's letters. How could these agents of an unpopular regime hope to be able to rally enough support to challenge a popular general like Jehu? Joram and Ahaziah had not been able to stand before Jehu; how could they succeed where two kings had failed? Of course this argument was fallacious, for those two kings had been taken by surprise and treacherously murdered. But the most flimsy argument can convince a coward that bold action is inappropriate (2 Kings 10:4). So the chief officials of Samariathe majordomo of the royal palace, the mayor of the city, the elders, and those who had raised Ahab's childrensent a letter of capitulation to Jehu. The bluff had worked! The leaders might have simply declined the challenge to put forth a rival king; but they went much further. They placed themselves unreservedly on Jehu's side when they declared, We are your servants and will do all that you ask. They closed their brief note by urging Jehu to take whatever steps he thought were necessary to confirm himself in the kingdom (2 Kings 10:5).

The reply of the rulers of Jezreel gave Jehu an opportunity of which he was not slow to take advantage. He fired back a letter which in effect demanded that they demonstrate the loyalty they had so recently professed. If they were really his servants, and if they would follow his orders, then let them decapitate their master's sons and bring their heads to Jezreel within twenty-four hours (2 Kings 10:6). Heads of rebels and pretenders were generally brought to the sovereign, and then exposed in some public place in order that the public might be convinced that they were really dead. As Jezreel was but twenty miles from Samaria, the order could easily be carried out in the time stipulated. Nevertheless, prompt action would have been necessary, and thus the leaders had little time for consideration and deliberation. Having committed themselves in their letter to obedience, the leaders of Samaria seemed to have no choice but to allow themselves to become the tools of Jehu. Without hesitation they slew the seventy princes, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jezreel by messenger (2 Kings 10:7). Jehu had ordered them to bring the heads to Jezreel; but because they so greatly feared Jehu, they decided to send the heads by messenger.

When the heads of Ahab's sons arrived at Jezreel, Jehu ordered that they be put on public display in two heaps at the city gate (2 Kings 10:8). Such a spectacle must have awakened the morbid curiosity of the inhabitants of Jezreel and attracted a great throng of spectators. The next morning, Jehu went out to address the crowds at the gate. Since they were upright men, Jehu called upon them to render a judgment. He openly admitted that he had slain his master; but who, he asked, slew all these? (2 Kings 10:9). He confessed to one murder; but here are seventy murders! Everyone knew by that time how these sons of Ahab had met their death. They were slain, not by Jehu and his soldiers, but by the most trusted officials of the former regime. Did this not prove that all the leaders of the nation were weary of the Ahabites? Did this not clear Jehu of any private or selfish motive in what he had done? Furthermore, Jehu argued, what had transpired had been predicted by Elijah the prophetAhab had been requited in the portion of Jezreel; the dogs had eaten the flesh of Jezebel; the house of Ahab was being destroyed. Since the accomplishment had gone so far, Jehu was confident that the entire prophecy of Elijah would shortly be fulfilled. The whole house of Ahab would perish (2 Kings 10:10)it would become like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah (1 Kings 21:23).

Encouraged by his past success, Jehu proceeded to great lengths. He slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel. This no doubt included the princesses as well as the princes. In addition he executed his great men, perhaps even those who had been used by Jehu to slay the seventy sons of Ahab, and the Baal priests who were on the royal payroll. The details of how these priests met their death is recorded later in chapter 10. Thus did Jehu destroy the entire Ahabite faction from the land (2 Kings 10:11).