2 Kings 9-10
Sometimes, it’s easy to confuse serving God with serving our own desires. You can go out and do amazing things, things God would love to see you doing, but that doesn’t mean you’re truly doing it for God. Our intentions behind the works are what matter. Only obeying God when it happens to align with your own agenda is not truly serving Him. We are called to take up our crosses daily, to surrender our lives to God wholly and completely. Half-hearted obedience isn’t going to cut it. It can make the world a better place, momentarily, and it can even be used by God to carry out His plan. But God isn’t asking us to be lukewarm, available-only-when-it’s-convenient-for-us Christians. A true follower of Christ is willing to do whatever God asks, and go wherever He leads, everyday.
When Jehu was anointed and declared the next king of Israel after Joram (aka Jehoram), he was tasked with a very morbid vocation. He was called to bring judgement on the house of Ahab; a very harsh judgement consisting of a lot of killing. Fortunately, the intense Jehu was up to the task, and in a way, was one of the most successful kings Israel had during this time. After a long run of very bad kings, Jehu was a refreshingly obedient type of ruler, who did exactly what God called him to do… until he didn’t.
In 2 Kings 10:12-14, we watch as Jehu viciously takes the additional life of King Ahaziah. This was a whole separate ordeal from the righteous fulfillment of God’s command to end the house of Ahab, and later he kills more relatives of Ahaziah. This was not apart of the instructions God provided, but he went on ruthlessly anyways. His ego and yearning for glory gave rise to unsolicited murder, of which he was thoroughly proud. In 2 Kings 10:16-17, Jehu requests that the honorable Jehonadab come with him and see his zeal for the LORD, and then kills more people. Jehu’s continued obedience is noteworthy, and even impressive, but in the end, he was proud of his own zeal, and only followed God’s command when it went along with his own ambitions.
2 Kings 10:31 says: “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.” He was quick to end the worship of Baal in Israel, but continued with the worship of false idols of Jeroboam. Jehu fought hard against idolatry, but not with all his heart. He fulfilled God’s work, and served Him well, but he never really had a true relationship with God. He destroyed everything in his path, partially for God, but ultimately for his own gain.
As followers of Christ and servants of the Most High, we are called to live everyday for something greater than ourselves, whether or not that lines up with our personal plans, desires, or ambitions. I pray that we may always serve our loving God wholeheartedly, for His cause, and not ours.
-Isabella Osborn
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – 2 Kings 9-10 and Proverbs 9
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