The Divine Hitman

The Death of Jezebel
Courtesy Orientalism in Art

Truth may not always be stranger than fiction, but it can be as dramatic.

The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’”
   “What do you have to do with peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”
   The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”  2 Kings 9:18

As I am reading through the Bible, I am constantly amazed at how many great stories exist in the Old Testament.  Those who neglect that portion of the Scriptures miss out on many stories involving colorful characters.  Jehu is one such character.  There are two Jehus in the Bible, the first one, Jehu son of Hanani, was a prophet, and while I'm sure that he had an interesting life, the one I'm talking about is Jehu the son of Nimshi, who was a military leader who became king of Israel.

Jehu son of Nimshi comes onto the scene during the time when Elijah was the main prophet in Israel.  Shortly after the Mount Carmel experience, God gives Elijah a "to do" list which involves anointing two kings and his prophetic successor.  Apparently, Elijah didn't complete the list before being taken to heaven, so we find Elisha being the one to set Jehu's reign in motion.

I'm not going to retell Jehu's entire story (which you can read in 2 Kings 9-10), but I will say that his story reads like some sort of action movie (hence the provocative title for this post).  After being anointed king by an anonymous young prophet described as a "maniac", Jehu, formerly a military commander, becomes the leader of what amounts to a death squad hunting down and eliminating all those connected with the now-deceased evil king Ahab and the worshipers of the false god Baal.

One of my favorite parts of this story shows that there was something special about Jehu (if I was making a movie, this clip would be in the trailer).  As he was approaching the hideout for number one on his hit list, Ahab's son Joram, Joram sends out a messenger to see if Jehu has come in peace, and as all good action-movie stars go, he has definitely not come in peace.  Jehu had such a way about him (I would compare him to Leonidas of Spartan fame), that with two short sentences (see text above), he convinces not one, but two of Joram's messengers to switch sides and fight against their former leader.

After eliminating Joram and Ahaziah, Jehu goes after the prophet-killer Jezebel, Ahab's widow.  What happens next says something about both Jehu and Jezebel.  When Jezebel heard that Jehu was on his way, she did her hair and put on makeup, and stood by a window waiting for him.  When he arrived she asked him if he came in peace (you know the answer to that question), and once again, with a few words, Jehu was able to convince some on the other side to do his bidding.

The remainder of the story involves more action as Jehu makes his way through his divine hit list (incidentally, nobody after this point asks if he came in peace), and God commends him of his services even though Jehu didn't get everything right.  While I am not advocating the glorification of bloodshed, I'm writing about Jehu's story for the purpose of getting people to pay more attention to the entire Bible.

So if you take the time and read some of the great stories of the Old Testament, you will find that the truth in the Bible can be as interesting as the fiction you'd find elsewhere.

Opposition

Psalm 119:49-56 

z Zayin

 ⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant,
       for you have given me hope. 
 ⁵⁰ My comfort in my suffering is this:
       Your promise preserves my life.
 ⁵¹ The arrogant mock me without restraint,
       but I do not turn from your law.
 ⁵² I remember your ancient laws, O LORD,
       and I find comfort in them.
 ⁵³ Indignation grips me because of the wicked,
       who have forsaken your law.
 ⁵⁴ Your decrees are the theme of my song
       wherever I lodge.
 ⁵⁵ In the night I remember your name, O LORD,
       and I will keep your law.
 ⁵⁶ This has been my practice:
       I obey your precepts.

When keeping God's law, we will undoubtedly encounter people who think we should do otherwise.

The verse that stood out the most to me in this passage is verse 51, especially the "without restraint" part. There is few things more annoying to a law-breaker than one who consistently keeps the law. Such a person is a rebuke to their lawlessness, and because of that they will take those negative feelings and turn them upon the law-keeper. We shouldn't allow this unrestrained mocking to turn us from keeping the law. We need to find comfort in God's commands.

Lord, help me to stay true to You regardless of what other people say and do to me.

Senseless Men and Wicked Grass

Psalm 92:4-7 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your thoughts! The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be forever destroyed.

The Bible speaks many times about how things will end up for the wicked, and the Psalms are no exception. Here the author states that you would have to be a senseless, foolish person not to understand that concept. Those statements become even stronger when I remember that at the time the psalms were written that the amount of available scripture was very small. I can refer to many Bible texts talking about the final demise of the wicked, but many of those texts come from the New Testament. Even those texts in the Old Testament were centuries away from being written and publicized. So what I get from this is that one simply has to use common sense to figure this out.

Another layer is added when I consider the fact that, according to the subtitle, this psalm was written "For the Sabbath day." What better time to talk about evildoers flourishing than on the Sabbath day. Those who keep the Sabbath, especially those who grew up learning about the Sabbath, undoubtedly heard stories about how people were blessed financially, etc. by keeping that day holy. Observation of the world around us tends to run counter to that thought. The world is full of people who do not keep the Sabbath, yet are doing quite well financially. So quite possibly, the author wanted those who read and hear this psalm to remember that despite all this temporal prosperity, that in the end, the wicked will be "forever destroyed."

So as we go about our days, and especially the Sabbath day, let us remember that the prosperity of the wicked is temporary, and that their destruction is forever.