Jehu Is Anointed and Ahab’s House Is Judged

9:1 Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild and told him, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. 9:2 When you arrive there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi and take him aside into an inner room. 9:3 Take the container of olive oil, pour it over his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says, “I have designated you as king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and run away quickly!” 9:4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. 9:5 When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting there. So he said, “I have a message for you, O officer.” Jehu asked, “For which one of us?” He replied, “For you, O officer.” 9:6 So Jehu got up and went inside. Then the prophet poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I have designated you as king over the Lord’s people Israel. 9:7 You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the Lord’s servants. 9:8 Ahab’s entire family will die. I will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. 9:9 I will make Ahab’s dynasty like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. 9:10 Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried.’” Then he opened the door and ran away. 9:11 When Jehu rejoined his master’s servants, they asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.” 9:12 But they said, “You’re lying! Tell us what he said.” So he told them what he had said. He also related how he had said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have designated you as king over Israel.’” 9:13 Each of them quickly took off his cloak and they spread them out at Jehu’s feet on the steps. The trumpet was blown and they shouted, “Jehu is king!” 9:14 Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army, guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria. 9:15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. Jehu told his supporters, “If you really want me to be king, then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel.” 9:16 Jehu drove his chariot to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram.) 9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. He said, “I see troops!” Jehoram ordered, “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’” 9:18 So the horseman went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.” 9:19 So he sent a second horseman out to them and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.” 9:20 The watchman reported, “He reached them, but hasn’t started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi; he drives recklessly.” 9:21 Jehoram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.” When his chariot had been hitched up, King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots to meet Jehu. They met up with him in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. 9:22 When Jehoram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything all right, Jehu?” He replied, “How can everything be all right as long as your mother Jezebel promotes idolatry and pagan practices?” 9:23 Jehoram turned his chariot around and took off. He said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!” 9:24 Jehu aimed his bow and shot an arrow right between Jehoram’s shoulders. The arrow went through his heart and he fell to his knees in his chariot. 9:25 Jehu ordered his officer Bidkar, “Pick him up and throw him into the part of the field that once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Remember, you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, when the Lord pronounced this judgment on him, 9:26 ‘“Know for sure that I saw the shed blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday,” says the Lord, “and that I will give you what you deserve right here in this plot of land,” says the Lord.’ So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the Lord said.” 9:27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what happened, he took off up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him and ordered, “Shoot him too.” They shot him while he was driving his chariot up the ascent of Gur near Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo and died there. 9:28 His servants took his body back to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his ancestors in the city of David. 9:29 Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab. 9:30 Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner, fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window. 9:31 When Jehu came through the gate, she said, “Is everything all right, Zimri, murderer of his master?” 9:32 He looked up at the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. 9:33 He said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down, and when she hit the ground, her blood splattered against the wall and the horses, and Jehu drove his chariot over her. 9:34 He went inside and had a meal. Then he said, “Dispose of this accursed woman’s corpse. Bury her, for after all, she was a king’s daughter.” 9:35 But when they went to bury her, they found nothing left but the skull, feet, and palms of the hands. 9:36 When they went back and told him, he said, “The Lord’s word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned, ‘In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh. 9:37 Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel. People will not be able to even recognize her.’” Jehu Wipes Out Ahab’s Family

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The Lord brings judgment on Ahab’s house to completion by raising up Jehu as his instrument. Jehu is made king, Joram and Ahaziah are killed, and Jezebel dies just as the Lord had said through his prophets.

This chapter shows that the Lord keeps his word. Elisha sends a young prophet to secretly anoint Jehu as king over Israel. The message is not just that Jehu will rule, but that he will be the Lord’s instrument of judgment against Ahab’s family. The prophecy says the Lord will repay the bloodshed of his servants and bring Ahab’s dynasty to an end.

When Jehu’s fellow officers hear the news, they quickly support him. Jehu then moves fast against Joram, who is in Jezreel recovering from battle wounds. The meeting between Jehu and Joram happens on the same ground connected with Naboth’s unjust death, which shows that God has not forgotten that crime. Jehu shoots Joram, and his body is thrown onto Naboth’s field as a sign that the Lord’s earlier judgment is now coming true.

Ahaziah of Judah is also killed because he is caught up in the orbit of Ahab’s house. His death is brief in the account, but it shows how dangerous it is to be allied with a corrupt and judgment-bound house.

The chapter ends with Jezebel’s death. She shows defiance, but her end is shameful and violent, just as the Lord had spoken through Elijah. Her body is left in a way that fulfills the warning that dogs would devour her flesh, and only a few remains are found. The chapter closes by stressing that the Lord’s prophetic word has come to pass exactly as he said.

• God remembers bloodguilt and idolatry.
• The Lord can raise up rulers and use them to carry out his judgment.
• Prophetic words are not empty threats; God fulfills them in history.
• Israel’s kings are accountable to the covenant God and are not above his judgment.
• Joram’s death at Naboth’s field shows that God had not forgotten the earlier injustice.
• Ahaziah of Judah is not the main target, but his alliance with Ahab’s house brings him into danger.
• Jezebel’s death fulfills Elijah’s earlier warning exactly.

• Do not treat Jehu as a general model for personal revenge or political violence.
• Do not blur the difference between Israel’s covenant history and the church.
• Take God’s warnings seriously; idolatry and bloodshed bring judgment.
• Remember that political power does not protect anyone from God’s justice.
• Trust that God keeps the promises and warnings he gives through his prophets.

This passage belongs to the history of Israel under the Mosaic covenant. It shows the Lord carrying out the judgment he had already announced against Ahab’s house because of idolatry and murder. The Davidic kingdom in Judah is distinct, but Ahaziah’s death shows how Judah could be harmed by close association with northern corruption. In the larger storyline of Scripture, this chapter keeps alive the need for a faithful king and for a people cleansed from idolatry. It is not a direct pattern for Christian politics, but it does show that God rules over kings and brings his word to completion.

Read this chapter with reverence for God’s holiness. He is patient, but he does not ignore idolatry, murder, or pride forever. Believers should not copy Jehu’s violence, but they should learn to fear the Lord, believe his word, and avoid close friendship with corrupt power. The passage also reminds us to pay attention when God warns, because he always acts truthfully and justly.

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