2 Kings 9:1-13
"9 Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tie up your garments, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. 2 And when you arrive, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. 3 Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.”
4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.5 And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. And he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “To which of us all?” And he said, “To you, O commander.” 6 So he arose and went into the house. And the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. 7 And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord. 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 9 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.10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled.
11 When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they said to him, “Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the fellow and his talk.” 12 And they said, “That is not true; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and so he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’” 13 Then in haste every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, “Jehu is king.”"
This passage begins the story of the destruction of the house of Ahab, as foretold by Elijah. Something of the desperate tension of these days is seen in the instructions given by Elisha to the prophet sent to anoint Jehu. It was a time when no life was safe, and particularly a prophet's. One is reminded of some of the terrible days that have darkened Scotland's history when life was so dangerous for all God's people. It is encouraging for us to see amidst the turmoil and anarchy, the vindication of God's purposes and the fulfilment of His promises, and to know that disorder and chaos do not have the final word in society. Evil is punished, and evil men are requited for their sins.
It is interesting to see Jehu's reaction to his anointing. He was evasive when his companions enquired of him the errand of the prophet, obviously uncertain how they would react to the news. But he need not have feared. They received the news with acclaim. Joram's reign had become so unpopular that the simmering discontent needed only to be given expression in this way to bring it all into the open. God had been silently preparing the ground for this strategic moment. He often works like this, in the interests of His kingdom. It is all a question of waiting for the right time to act. The reason why we see less evidence of this than we might is that we are too prone to intervene precipitately before God's hour of action has struck. This always leads to trouble - always. Why are we so unwilling to wait for Him?
