Based on 2 Kings 10:1-17 (New King James Version)
“Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to those who reared Ahab’s sons, saying: ‘Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons, choose the best qualified of your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.’ But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, ‘Look, two kings could not stand up to him; how then can we stand?’ And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, ‘We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your sight.’ Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying: ‘If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.’ Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. Then a messenger came and told him, saying, ‘They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.’ And he said, ‘Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.’ So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, ‘You are righteous. Indeed I conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these? Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of the Lord which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the Lord has done what He spoke by His servant Elijah.’ So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining. And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at Beth Eked of the Shepherds, Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, ‘Who are you?’ So they answered, ‘We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.’ And he said, ‘Take them alive!’ So they took them alive, and killed them at the well of Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them. Now 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 right, as my heart is toward your heart?’ And Jehonadab answered, ‘It is.’ Jehu said, ‘If it is, give me your hand.’ So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. Then he said, ‘Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.’ So they had him ride in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to Elijah.’
Anyone who reads this passage without understanding what had brought such judgment to the house of Ahab would say, “This is something very extreme and almost barbaric! Where can God’s love be seen in something like this?” And like all things, it is important to understand the entire issue first before jumping to conclusions. The great sin that Ahab had committed was idolatry, and such idolatry that he even forced all of the kingdom of Israel to serve Baal, a pagan god. Ahab not only had this idolatry in his life, but he also put it into the Lord’s temple, and he persecuted and even killed most of God’s prophets. Ahab had no limits in his rebellion against God, and this evil was so deeply rooted in his family and in everyone that surrounded him that God had them exterminated. This evil had to be removed completely. It was like a cancer that had formed.
Now, it is still very possible that there could be people that even though they are given this explanation, they will still dare to judge God and at minimum, decide to see Him as no good. There are people that think that they are more righteous than God, and they think that they have better criteria than the Most High. And well, this is what the Lord says, especially to those who dare judge Him: “‘But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ says the Lord God, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live? But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.’ ‘Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?’” Ezekiel 18:21-29. Therefore, it is impossible for a person to be better than God, and to have better criteria than God, and of course, to think that they have more right than God. And finally, man is just that—man. And God is God and there is none better, nor wiser, nor least of all, more powerful than God.
What is the problem with idolatry? Let’s define quickly what it is: It is everything that is put ahead of God, and it is served with that priority. This is what the Word says: “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Exodus 20:3-6. When a person puts other things and people, or even themselves before God, and they serve that as such, that is idolatry. And this is too common a problem today, and that’s why everything is getting so complicated. God is judging, and He will continue judging idolatry even more. There is too much idolatry in God’s supposed people. Other things and people have taken priority at all levels. The Lord is not really Lord in the lives of the majority of His people. Moreover, many try to put God in a servant position, and that God exists to fulfill their evil desires, whims, selfish goals, etc. And many leaders serve more their bellies and comfort than God. And quite simply, no one can fool God, and this sin will not go unpunished, neither now, nor far less, in eternal judgment. As it is written: “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:30-31. So then, are you going to continue giving priority to other things and people than to the Most High, following Ahab’s steps? Or, will you treat the Lord as Who He is, for your own good? Lord bless! John