Vigilante



2 Kings 10:12-28
12 Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way, when he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds,
13 Jehu met the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah, and we came down to visit the royal princes and the sons of the queen mother.”
14 He said, “Take them alive.” And they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two persons, and he spared none of them.
15 And when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand. And Jehu took him up with him into the chariot.
16 And he said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.” So he had him ride in his chariot.
17 And when he came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke to Elijah.
18 Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much.
19 Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests. Let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the worshipers of Baal.
20 And Jehu ordered, “Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it.
21 And Jehu sent throughout all Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they entered the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other.
22 He said to him who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out the vestments for them.
23 Then Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search, and see that there is no servant of the Lord here among you, but only the worshipers of Baal.”
24 Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.
Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and said, “The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to escape shall forfeit his life.”
25 So as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers, “Go in and strike them down; let not a man escape.” So when they put them to the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the inner room of the house of Baal,
26 and they brought out the pillar that was in the house of Baal and burned it.
27 And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day.
28 Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel.

There have been numerous deeds done in the name of the Lord over the centuries and many of them have been anything but sanctioned by God. History is filled with people who thought they needed to defend God and the usual outcome is violence against mankind. Blood flows and the name of God is not championed in any way. Jehu seems to be on a march across the countryside, bent on wiping out Baalism from the region. While he is successful, his methods are ruthless and deceitful. For me, it begs the question: Does God need us to wage war for Him? Perhaps I am just a product of my generation, but I don’t believe so.

We’ve all heard of those who would bomb an abortion clinic in the name of the Lord or who would try and eradicate a race of people because they are heathens. But none of this is modeled as the way of the Lord as we read the Bible. As we recognized yesterday, while Jehu does indeed play out the prophecy spoken against Ahab and Jezebel, God has not commanded him to do so. Vigilantes are not rewarded in the Scriptures. God clearly states that the path of vengeance belongs only to Him.

These pages in 2 Kings are filled with violence and bloodshed. But we must keep in mind that the bloodshed is the responsibility of vicious people, not a loving God. The only bloodshed that God meted out was the shedding of Jesus blood for all of us to cover our sin. Never will He thank us for shedding blood in His name. Let’s allow Him to take care of his own justice.

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