Focus Chapters:
- 2 Chronicles 21:8-20
- 2 Kings 8:23-29
- 2 Chronicles 22:1-7
- 2 Kings 9
- 2 Kings 10:1-17
- 2 Chronicles 22:8-9
- 2 Kings 10:18-31
Standout Verse(s):
2 Kings 10:18-28 NLT
Then Jehu called a meeting of all the people of the city and said to them, “Ahab’s worship of Baal was nothing compared to the way I will worship him! Therefore, summon all the prophets and worshipers of Baal, and call together all his priests. See to it that every one of them comes, for I am going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal. Anyone who fails to come will be put to death.” But Jehu’s cunning plan was to destroy all the worshipers of Baal.
Then Jehu ordered, “Prepare a solemn assembly to worship Baal!” So they did. He sent messengers throughout all Israel summoning those who worshiped Baal. They all came—not a single one remained behind—and they filled the temple of Baal from one end to the other. And Jehu instructed the keeper of the wardrobe, “Be sure that every worshiper of Baal wears one of these robes.” So robes were given to them.
Then Jehu went into the temple of Baal with Jehonadab son of Recab. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, “Make sure no one who worships the Lord is here—only those who worship Baal.” So they were all inside the temple to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty of his men outside the building and had warned them, “If you let anyone escape, you will pay for it with your own life.”
As soon as Jehu had finished sacrificing the burnt offering, he commanded his guards and officers, “Go in and kill all of them. Don’t let a single one escape!” So they killed them all with their swords, and the guards and officers dragged their bodies outside. Then Jehu’s men went into the innermost fortress of the temple of Baal. They dragged out the sacred pillar used in the worship of Baal and burned it. They smashed the sacred pillar and wrecked the temple of Baal, converting it into a public toilet, as it remains to this day.
In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel.
Observation (s):
- Jehu concocted and executed a plan that resulted in the removal of all traces of Baal worship from Israel.
In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel
Application:
According to my friend, gardening is a task that stills and clears the mind. As an avid gardener, she should know because her garden and life thrives. However, in its early years she struggled constantly with one thing in her utopia of a garden; weeds. No matter how much she pulled them up, they tended to reappear, strangling her precious plants. This was because she tried to uproot them over a period. One day she came to the conclusion: “You have to uproot them all at once, or they will come back.” When she tried that methodology, it worked! Her garden has been thriving ever since.
This was a methodology that Jehu recognized as critical to re-establishing God at the center of Israel. He got rid of Ahab’s family and descendants, however, he recognized that Ahab and Jezebel’s influence did not end even with their deaths. He went a step further and uprooted all Baal worshippers. Through this, he removed all traces of Baal worship from Israel, allowing a new way, God’s way, to be re-established.
I have a lot of unhealthy habits and conscious and unconscious idolatries that oftentimes shift God from being the center of my life. Do you? Give God the chance to establish Himself at the center of your life by uprooting all the idols that you have allowed to take His place. It is not enough to address the impact or the effect. Like Jehu, you have to uproot the idolatries by the root, removing all traces from your life. In other words, use the eraser, not the white-out.
