Matthew Henry comments on this passage. Hazael and Jehu were the men that were destined and designed to be the instruments of God's justice in punishing and destroying the house of Ahab. Elijah was told to appoint them to this service, but upon Ahab's humiliation, a reprieve was granted, and so it was left to Elisha to appoint them. Hazael's elevation to the throne of Syria we read of in the foregoing chapter, and we must now attend to Jehu to the throne of Israel. For him that escapeth the sword of Hazael, as Joram and Ahaziah did, Jehu must slay, of which this chapter gives us an account. Hear now the word of Almighty God, 2 Kings chapter nine, the whole chapter starting at verse one. Hear now the inerrant, infallible, and inspired word of God, 2 Kings 9, verse 1. And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets and said unto him, gird up thy loins and take this box of oil in thine hand and go to Ramoth Gilead. And when thou comest thither, look out there, Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him arise up from among his brethren and carry him to an inner chamber. Then take the box of oil and pour it on his head and say, thus saith the Lord, I have anointed the king over Israel. Then open the door and flee and tarry not. So the young man, even the young man, the prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting, and he said, I have an errand unto thee, O captain. And Jehu said, unto which of all us? And he said, to thee, O captain. And he arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel. And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish. And I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel. And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.' And he opened the door and fled. Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his Lord. And one said unto him, is all well? Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, you know the man and his communication. And they said, it is false, tell us now. And he said, thus and thus spake he to me saying, thus saith the Lord, I have anointed the king over Israel. Then they hasted and took every man his garment and put it under him on the top of the stairs and blew with trumpets saying, Jehu is king. So Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now, Joram had kept Ramoth-Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael, king of Syria. But King Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him when he fought with Hazael, king of Syria. And Jehu said, if it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel. So Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram. And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel. And he spied the company of Jehu as he came and said, I see a company. And Joram said, take in horsemen and send to meet them. And let him say, is it peace? So there went one on horseback to meet him and said, thus saith the king, is it peace? And Jehu said, what hast thou to do with peace? Turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, the messenger came to them, but he cometh not again. Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them and said, thus saith the king, is it peace? And Jehu answered, what hast thou to do with peace? Turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, he came even unto them, and cometh not again. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for he driveth furiously. And Joram said, make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, went out each in his chariot. And they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth, the Jezreelite. And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, what peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? And Joram turned his hands and fled, and said to Ahaziah, there is treachery, O Ahaziah. And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength and smote Jehoram between his arms and the arrow went out at his heart and he sunk down in his chariot. Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, take up and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember how that when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the Lord laid this burden upon him. Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord. And I will requite thee in this plat, saith the Lord. Now therefore, take and cast him into the plat of ground according to the word of the Lord. But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him and said, smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Iblayam. And he fled to Megiddo and died there. And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David. And in the 11th year of Joram, the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her face and tired her head and looked out at a window. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, had Zimri peace, who slew his master. And he lifted up his face to the window and said, who is on my side, who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. And he said, throw her down. So they threw her down. And some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses. And he trod her underfoot. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink and said, go see now this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king's daughter. And they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. Wherefore, they came again and told him, and he said, this is the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, in the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel, and the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, this is Jezebel. Thus far the reading of God's Holy Word from 2 Kings 9. May the Lord bless us in the reading and hearing of it and now in consideration of its teaching. Verses 1-10 we have Jehu's prophetic commission to take the kingdom and to destroy the house of Ahab. Elisha calls one of the children of the prophets, this is the same word for the sons of the prophets used in 1 Kings 20, 35 and 2 Kings 2, 7 and 5, 22. He tells him to gird up his loins, they would have long flowing garments, they would gird them up so that they could run unimpeded, be quick in other words, and go to Ramoth Gilead. This is where King Joram had been wounded. The army remained behind under Jehu's care and Jehu will be addressed. The mission is given of confidentiality versus two and three, take him to an inner chamber and anoint him and commission him. Verses 4 through 10, the young prophet faithfully executes his charge. I have an errand unto thee, O captain, he says in verse 5. And because Jehu has brethren in office, he says, well, which one of us? There's no one above another. So he's going to be raised up from among his equals. The young prophet anoints Jehu king over the people of the Lord in verse 6. Verses seven and eight, he gives him a commission, as God had spoken through Elijah, 1 Kings 21, 20 through 24. Notice verse seven, the reason for this commission is to avenge the blood, God says, of my servants, the prophets. Do you remember what Jezebel did? She cut off all the prophets of the Lord. She killed them all. And we had one man Obadiah who hid them in a cave by hundreds, you remember this, or by fifties, he hid a hundred of the Lord's prophets. First Kings 18 verse four. Also the blood of the servants of the Lord would be avenged, such as Naboth and his sons. As we saw from verse 26, it wasn't just Naboth that was killed. It was all of his sons so that there would be no heirs who could say, that vineyard belongs to me. The king killed them all, the father and his children. And notice verse eight, the whole house of Ahab shall perish, none remaining to defile the earth with their idolatry and wicked deeds. I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall. In other words, every single male in that house, including your dogs, I'm going to kill them all. They will be absolutely destroyed, no hope of recovery. him that is shut up and left in Israel, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, whether in a stronghold shut up or in the populace at large, Ahab's household will not be able to escape. I note then this doctrine from Numbers 32, verse 23, Moses told the people, be sure your sin will find you out. Ahab's household, their sin would find them out. Our Lord Jesus Christ said much the same. Mark 4, 22, there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested. Neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad. God will find out secret sins. Rest assured, no sin will go unpunished. No secret sin will be kept concealed. Your sins will find you out. And if you would like refuge from the wrath of God, as we considered earlier today, flee for refuge to Jesus Christ, who is the propitiation for our sins. Confess your sins, turn from your sins, forsake your sins, hate your sins, and those enemies of yours that seem so sweet to you, leave them behind. They are soul-destroying delights and will be bitterness in the latter end. Notice verse 10, the bitterness, the dog shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel. Oh, don't think you'll escape just because all the males will be destroyed. Jezebel, you will be destroyed as well. P.S. In other words, the witch will get her just reward. Neither her sex nor her status will shield her. Verses 11 through 20, Jehu's speedy execution of his commission. He marches his captains to Jezreel. Now his fellow captains think that the prophet is what sort of person? Mad, he's crazy, he's insane. What said this mad fellow unto thee? To worldly men, the prophets seemed beyond the pale, Matthew Poole comments. because of their neglect of themselves and contempt of all worldly wealth and honor, which the wise men of this world so greedily seek." You remember what Elisha said when all these great train of presents were brought to him by Naaman the leper? He didn't want his money. That's why Gehazi got cursed, because he wanted his money. So to worldly men, if you said, all those riches, I do not want them, what would they think? You're mad. You're crazy. Why would you not take that? Let us learn to treat the insults of worldly men with the seriousness that they deserve, which is none. The insults of worldly wise men that we are mad or crazy mean nothing. Jehu then claims that they know the communication. You know what this man said, and they deny it. So then Jehu relates to them his anointing and commission. Verses 11 and 12. The military captains then elect that he will be their king. They announce him as such, verses 13 through 15, and conspire to destroy Joram. Notice verse 16, and Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram. We saw this at the end of chapter eight. Be careful who your friends are. You might partake in the judgments that God executes against them. Bad company corrupts good morals, and those who adhere to the wicked will partake in their destruction. Joram sees Jehu coming to Jezreel, verses 17 through 19. He sends two watchmen to inquire, is it peace? Is there something wrong at Ramoth Gilead? Is there some problem in the army? And both of them join Jehu's force. They say the driving is like the driving of Jehu, the watchman says, the son of Nimshi, for he driveth how? Furiously, like a madman. In madness is literally what it says in Hebrew for furiously. Matthew Henry comments that Jehu thereby discovers himself to be a man of a hot, eager spirit, intent upon his business, and pushing forward with all his might, just the sort of weapon God would use against Ahab. Verses 21 through 37, Jehu executes Joram king of Israel, Ahaziah king of Judah, and Jezebel. In God's providence, he sets the stage in verse 21. Where did the king come out and meet Jehu? In the portion of ground that belonged to whom? Naboth, the very place where God said, your blood will be shed. So here they are, ready for battle. When Joram saw Jehu, he said, is it peace Jehu? Apparently so far, he knows nothing of the conspiracy against his life. He wonders, what exactly is going on here? Is everything well at Ramoth Gilead? What's going on? Is there peace? Notice the answer, verse 22. And he answered, what peace? So long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many, They're boundless, it seems. I can't number all of them to you. I can't tell you all of her whoredoms and all of her witchcraft, he says. And if this is the case, both literal whoredoms against the seventh commandment and figurative whoredoms against the second commandment, God being a jealous God, If witchcrafts in their idolatry and bewitching the elders of Israel, if these things are so, in your national life, among your national rulers, what peace? There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. And so Jehu says, you ask me of peace? Look to your mother, look to yourselves, look to this nation and our sins. I note then this doctrine. National peace is founded upon national piety and righteousness. National peace is founded upon national piety and righteousness. What peace so long as we have the whoredoms of this nation and our witchcrafts multiplied? Can we expect peace? Of course not. Proverbs 14, 34, the wise man says, righteousness exalteth a nation But sin is a reproach to any people. Matthew Henry, the way of sin can never be the way of peace. What peace can sinners have with God? What peace with their own consciences? What good, what comfort can they expect in life, in death, or after death, who go on still in their trespasses? No peace so long as sin is persisted in. But, listen, but as soon as it is repented of and forsaken, there is peace. This is good news. Joram realizes the conspiracy. He urges his brother king Ahaziah to flee, but is shot down dead with an arrow coming out the front of his heart as he flees from Jehu. Verses 23 and 24. Now notice Jehu verse 25, for remember how that when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the Lord laid this burden upon him. Jehu heard the words of Elijah. He heard the curse that came forth. In fact, he's going to tell us things that are not recorded in the inspired record in first Kings. He's going to tell us exactly what did Elijah say. Now God said that thy blood, 1 Kings 21 verse 19 to Ahab, thy blood, even thine shall be shed in this plat. Well, whose blood went through this boy's veins? His son, Joram. His blood did. Ahab's blood did. And so his blood would be spilled. Verse 26, Jehu quotes from Elijah. Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord. Part of the burden delivered by Elijah, not recorded in 1 Kings 21, but here recorded for our learning. Joram then has his carcass cast into Naboth's plat. The sons of Naboth would have inherited that land. Now the son of Ahab dies in that land and his carcass is there. Ahaziah flees, verses 27 through 29, and is mortally wounded in his chariot. He dies in Megiddo and is buried in Zion. Notice verse 30. When Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And what did she do? Did she run for her life? Did she take precautions to protect herself? No. Notice her brazen harlot's head. She paints her face, and she puts attire, a big beautiful hat, on top of her head, as if somehow her external beauty could cover her spiritual deformity. John Gill comments, she did this for grandeur and majesty. And in the pride and haughtiness of her spirit, which she retained to the last and resolved to go up and show in her extremity and calamity. Here she is about to die. What's she doing? Getting all dolled up, looking so beautiful for what? So that these servants of hers who hate her guts can push her out the windows, you see. Pride goes before a fall. a haughty look before destruction. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ says, to humble yourself so that you might be exalted. Jezebel exalts herself and so is humbled by God. Jezebel, in fact, taunts Jehu. Do you remember who Zimri was? He killed his master. And then Omri came and killed him. Omri, the father of whom? Ahab, you see. Did Zimri have peace who killed his master? Here you come to kill your master. You're not going to have peace, Jehu. That's what she's saying. As if she had some insights into the word of God and the future that God had ordained. Jehu then calls for Jezebel's destruction by those eunuchs loyal to himself, likely also God-fearing eunuchs, in verse 32. They push her out the window. Jehu tramples her and goes in to eat and drink. But he calls for her burial. After all, he says, this cursed woman, she is the daughter of a king, go out and bury her. They go to find the corpse, and what do they find? Nothing. They find the skull, the palms of her hands, and her feet. The dogs, as Elijah had said, ate her. In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel. 1 Kings 21, verse 23, the word of God. Verse 37, he remembers the word of God. He remembers what Elijah said. It comes back to him. The carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field. Think about that. The dogs ate it, and then what did they do with it? They digested it as dung upon the field. She was not worth it. God destroyed her. Why? Because of the pride of her heart, because of her whoredoms, and because of her witchcrafts, God's judgment came against her. And thus far, the exposition of 2 Kings 9.