JEHU STRIKES DOWN THE PROPHETS OF BAAL

Reading from 2 Kings Ch. 10 vs 18-27

I wonder how aggressive any of us are about removing sin from our lives. It’s easy to just pray and ask God to help us get rid of certain sins but do we work alongside him and take the steps or actions to get rid of these sins how he guides? I suppose the answer may vary depending on the sin but sin is one of those things that is like a weed. If we don’t get rid of the main cause or root of it, it will easily sprout again and again. Jehu was a commander in the army of the king of Israel and God chose and anointed him to be king of Israel. He wasn’t next in line or anything but he was someone who God was going to use to fulfil all the words of judgement that he spoke against Ahab, Jezebel and all the idol worshippers. Jehu was zealous and dedicated to fulfilling Gods word, he showed no fear and he just kept going, from killing the kings of Judah and Israel, clearing and leaving no descendants or relatives of Ahab and even having Jezebel killed. For today’s passage he would be dealing with those who worshipped Baal and all his prophets and such.

His strategy I think was very cool and also funny, at least when you read standing outside the box but to those on the inside it was so deceitful they wouldn’t have seen through it. He assembled all the people and made an announcement; that if they think Ahab served Baal a little, he would serve him much. Like I’m a bigger worshipper of Baal than whatever level you placed Ahab. He then proceeds to say that all the worshippers of Baal and all his priests should come through because he has a big sacrifice to offer. But it was a trap for them so he could destroy or get rid all of them. I can imagine the situation, they probably heard about what he had been doing and most likely feared but now he turns out to be a Baal worshipper like them? It kinda puts them at ease, they were probably happy that they could continue in their worship and sadly it was a trap precisely for them. Isn’t it funny how we get so concerned and even insecure when some of our favourite sins or access to them is threatened, we even plan and think of ways to work around things so we don’t give them up. Rather than us seeing the opportunity of God actively helping us get rid of the sin, you’re so in deep you find ways and bend over to sustain it. It was really a good trap, it got them comfortable around him without them even realising that God was about to purge the sin out the land.

So Jehu sent this word all throughout Israel and the worshippers and priests of Baal came through and they all went to the house of Baal. He had their worship clothing brought out for everyone to wear and it seemed to me like wearing a target and going to a shooting range. It was about to be an interesting worship session for them. So Jehu goes into the house of Baal and the guys have worn their drip and he says to the worshippers that they should search among themselves and make sure there are no worshippers of God with them, only Baal worshippers should be present. And that was amazing to me, imagine being someone who always knew you weren’t supposed to worship Baal but you were peer pressured into it but the group always knew you loved God. Or just being that guy who everyone knows isn’t not all in or that you have your reservations, this was a moment that God used to save all those that were still his and maybe kinda just lost their way. It is something that happens to most of us, sometimes people experiment or are curious and they go looking and maybe even get stuck in places they shouldn’t have been in in the first place. God does want you to question and to believe in him for the right reasons, to really understand what he really is about, he doesn’t want blind followers.

Now they get rid of the supposed imposters and the only way the suspicions die is if they actually worship and do all the offering stuff. Jehu wasn’t dumb or naïve, he made sure to go through everything, they had their service or whatever you can call it but what he did do was place eighty men outside the house of Baal. And he said to them that anyone who basically allows any of the Baal worshippers to get away is forfeiting their own life. It was a serious thing, Jehu was extreme and he was getting rid of the sin, uprooting the weed and making sure it would not sprout again among the children of Israel. Once the offerings were done, Jehu went and told the guards or the eighty to go in and strike the ball worshippers and make sure no man escapes. Imagine the last thing you do before you die is pledging your allegiance to a false god, it was a sad event. They couldn’t even hide, they had the clothing and everyone who was there was a confident Baal worshipper and they struck them down. They went further and burned the pillar from the house of Baal and even demolished the very house of Baal and made it a latrine. That was funny to me, can you imagine how degrading that was.

It might seem very brutal what Jehu had done but the process of getting rid of sin in a real and serious/permanent way can be like that. If you are gentle with sin, you are basically leaving it room to start again. Even when the children of Israel were entering the Promised Land, God instructed them to get rid of the all the people, including children and it seems harsh but sins are often passed on. How you worship or the things you end up valuing are often things you watched your parents or those around you do. So if you want to cut it off completely you have to get rid of everything. God doesn’t want us to keep falling back into sin and get deceived and harmed over and over. He doesn’t want any of us to be in the Baal worshipper situation where at your very end you’re worshipping a false god who can’t hear or save you and you end up in hell. He wants everyone saved, even those who are currently in the wrong place or have things misunderstood or might even be searching. No one should be condemned, as long as we are alive there is still an opportunity to meet Jesus and change/repent from our sin and find our way to God. So be of help and share the good news, Jesus is the only way, truth and life and no one is saved other than through him. Remember Jesus loves you always!