And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony; they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king!”(2 Kings 11:12)

It was a dark and evil time for the Kingdom of Judah. For six years, the wicked queen Athaliah held on to her throne by a mixture of murder and mystery. The murder was found in the fact that she killed every rightful heir of the House of David she could find. The mystery was found in the fact that the one surviving heir was unknown to her and all of Judah.

A godly woman named Jehosheba hid young Joash at the time of the massacre, and the boy was raised in secret. But when he was six years old, it was time to reveal the true king of Judah.

It was a dramatic moment. For six years everyone believed there was no surviving heir to David’s royal line, and there was no legitimate ruler to displace the wicked Athaliah. The secret had to be secure, because the Joash would be immediately killed if his existence was revealed. At the right time, they brought out the king’s son. Notice how all this took place, step by step.

First the king’s son had to be revealed(brought out). No one could support him and he could not take his rightful throne until he was brought out before the people.

Next the king’s son had to be crowned(put the crown on him). This was the public and official recognition of him as king.

The king’s son had to come with the Word of God(theygave him the Testimony). Joash appeared before the people holding the scrolls of God’s Word.

The king’s son had to be received(they made him king). He had the royal right to impose his reign, but he instead allowed his rule to be received.

The king’s son had to be anointed(they anointed him). He could never fulfill his office without a divine anointing.

The king’s son had to be praised(they clapped their hands and said, “Long live the king”). The king’s son received praise once he was recognized as their king.

We can and should follow the same pattern in our reception of Jesus Christ, the True King’s Son.

– Behold the revealed Jesus.
– Recognize King Jesus, wearing His rightful crown.
– Embrace Jesus as the Living Word.
– Receive Jesus as the True King.

– Believe upon Jesus as God’s Messiah (Anointed One).

– Praise Jesus as the enthroned King.

But remember: you have to reject the false ruler (in 2 Kings 11, Queen Athaliah) before you can truly embrace the true king (in 2 Kings 11, Joash). We renounce every pretended king to receive and praise King Jesus, the eternal king. So we say, “Long live the King!”

 

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 11

However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan. And the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin. (2 Kings 10:29-31)

Jehu was one of the most complicated men to serve as king over the ten northern tribes of Israel, of what was known as the kingdom of Israel (the kingdom of Judah in the south was made up of the two southern tribes).

All in all, we would probably say that Jehu was the best of all the bad kings of Israel. In many ways he was good, but Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam. Jehu aggressively worked against the worship of Baal in Israel. However, he promoted the false worship of the true God, after the pattern of Jeroboam who set up the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan. He obeyed God – up to a point.

– Jehu carried out God’s will, but he went too far and executed more people than God intended.

– Jehu carried out God’s will, but he did it for personal glory and out of pride.

– Jehu carried out God’s will, but he only did it partially. He stopped the idolatry of Baal, but he continued the sinful idolatry of Jeroboam.

We might see Jehu as a great Israeli patriot. He protested against Joram and the house of Ahab for the harm they did to Israel, and knew that to be strong, Israel had to be cleansed of Baal worship. He knew that Israel had to come back to the true God, but he didn’t care how they did it. To Jehu it was just as good to worship God at Dan or Bethel, even though God commanded otherwise.

When we compare Jehu to the other kings of Israel, we see that he was the best of a bad group. No other king in Israel fought against idolatry as much as Jehu did; sadly, even he did not fight against it with all his heart.

By not taking heed to walk in the law of the LORD God, Jehu showed that he did not live a life of fellowship with God. He was a success in some ways, but he was really a successful failure. God used Jehu as His instrument, but Jehu never really seemed to have a real relationship with God himself.

Don’t fall into the half-way trap. Don’t be a successful person who ends up failing in the most important things.

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 10

Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among his associates, and take him to an inner room. Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, “Thus says the LORD: ‘I have anointed you king over Israel.’” Then open the door and flee, and do not delay. (2 Kings 9:2-3)

In the days of Elijah and Elisha, there was some kind of association for the training of young men in the service of the LORD. It was something of a “school of the prophets” and the men who were part of the association were called “sons of the prophets.”

The words of 2 Kings 9:2-3 are from the Prophet Elisha to one of these sons of the prophets. The elder prophet gave this young man something of a class assignment: go to Ramoth Gilead and find Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat.

After he found Jehu, he was to take him to an inner room and, in a ceremony of anointing for leadership, pour oil upon the head of Jehu. As the oil flowed down Jehu’s head, the young prophet was to say: “Thus says the LORD: ‘I have anointed you king over Israel.’”

Now at that time, there was already a king over Israel – a man named Joram, the son of Ahab. But as far as God was concerned, the reign of Joram and the dynasty he represented was over. Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat would be the next king.

I think this is remarkable. The kingdom of Israel – the ten northern tribes – had thoroughly rejected God. It was hard to think of a worse king than Ahab, and his son Joram would be just as bad. Even though they had abandoned God, God had not abandoned them. The LORD would still raise up kings and cast down kings as He pleased.

Sometimes people think that they can really get away from God. They think that if they ignore God and pretend He doesn’t exist, that God will ignore them and pretend they don’t exist. It doesn’t work that way. The LORD God reigns over all the earth. We can accept it or reject it; we can believe it or deny it; but He will still reign no matter what we do.

Let that truth give you some peace today. Why do we struggle against God? Why are we so discouraged when others seem to resist Him? We need a greater confidence in the truth that God refuses to leave His throne just because some people don’t recognize His reign.

Who was that young prophet that Elisha sent to Jehu? We don’t know. Some old Jewish traditions say that it was Jonah, but we don’t know for certain. What we do know is that God was still showing that He was and is God.

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 9

And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.” (2 Kings 8:12)

This was a strange event in the life of Elisha. The king of Syria was sick, and he sent a messenger named Hazael to ask Elisha if the king would recover. When Hazael asked, the prophet told the messenger to go back and tell the king he would recover – but he would really die.

When Elisha said this strange thing, he began to weep. You see, God gave Elisha insight into more than the health of the king of Syria. He also saw the inevitable and ultimately God-ordained political plots to come. Elisha rightly said that the king would recoverfrom his illness, and he did. However, he also saw that the same servant who took the message would assassinate the king and take the throne.

When Elisha said this, he stared right at Hazael and through tears, he told the messenger, “I know the evil that you will do.” This was a dramatic, personal confrontation between this prophet and the high official of the king of Syria. Elisha stared at him so because he had prophetic knowledge of future events, and how this man would trouble Israel in the future.

Therefore, the man of God wept. God told Elisha more about the coming situation than he wanted to know. He showed the prophet that Hazael, when he became king, would do evil to the children of Israel.

Elisha’s prophetic calling and gift was at times more of a burden than a blessing. He could clearly see that disaster would come to Israel through Hazael, but he was powerless to prevent it.

Sometimes knowing God’s word and speaking God’s word to others brings pain. We hurt over the fact that many people hear and reject. What could have been a helpful warning to Hazael really made no difference.

When belief in God’s word and faithfulness to His message brings pain, we should regard it as a way that we share in the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). The pain becomes something of great value if it draws us closer to Jesus. As F.B. Meyer said, “The nearer we live to God, the more we deserve to be known as men and women of God, the more will our tears flow for the slain of the daughters of our people.”

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 8

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.” (2 Kings 7:3-4)

The city of Samaria was under siege and near total starvation. God promised to turn the situation around within 24 hours, and these verses explain the start of how God did it. Remarkably, God used four lepers to change everything – but first something had to change in the lepers.

These four lepers stayed at the entrance of the gate because they were not welcome in the city. Their leprous condition made them outcasts and untouchables. Sitting there, they asked an important question: “Why are we sitting here until we die?”

Their logic was perfect. They would soon die from the famine if they stayed by the city. If any food became available, they would certainly be the last to receive it. So they decided that their chances were better if they surrendered to the Syrian army.

The men understood that nothing would change until they changed something. If they stayed where they were, they would surely die. If they surrendered to the Syrian army, they might also die. But “might die” is a better chance than “will surely die.” In this case it was certainly better to do something instead of nothing.

This perfect logic applies in many situations, but in particular it applies spiritually and eternally. There are two possibilities for every human being. You can do nothing and you will certainly perish, and suffer the fate common to all who refuse to repent, believe, and seek God in Jesus Christ. Or, you can do something. Perhaps you fear that it won’t work to repent of your sins and put your trust in Jesus Christ for now and eternity. But remember: the other option – the option of doing nothing – means you will certainly perish.

The great news is that while the four lepers had no promise of rescue if they surrendered to the Syrian army, every person has the firm promise of Jesus Christ that they will be rescued if they surrender to the Savior. Jesus said in John 6:37, the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. The lepers didn’t have promise of being welcomed, but you do. Make use of some perfect logic.

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 7