2 Kings 9 – “The Whirlwind of Justice”
(Devotion #9 in our journey through 2 Kings)
The closing verses of chapter 8 left us with royal intrigue, foreign pressure, and Elisha waiting in the wings. Tonight the waiting ends. Chapter 9 is a single, swift thunder-clap: Jehu is anointed, Joram is killed, Ahaziah falls, and Jezebel meets her long-foretold end. What 1 Kings 19:15-17 promised, and what Naboth’s blood cried out for (1 Kings 21), finally arrives.
Archaeology helps us picture the scene:
• At Jezreel a ninth-century palace complex has been excavated,
including stables, ivory inlays, and a defensive tower—likely the window
from which Jezebel looked out.
• A chariot-wheel hub found there, burnished by constant use, reminds us
how fast Jehu’s horses would have spun.
• Assyrian annals mention “Ia-ú-a, son of Ḫumrî (Omri),” almost
certainly Jehu, paying tribute in 841 BC. The Bible records his zeal;
the Assyrians record his political realism.
Elisha sends “a young man, a prophet” to anoint Jehu in
Ramoth-Gilead.
Hebrew note: the officers call this messenger מְשׁוּגָע
(meshuggā‘)—“a madman” (v. 11). The word can mean ecstatic,
reminding us that true prophecy may look unpolished to polished society
(cf. Acts 2:13).
Key verbs tumble out: “Take,” “go,” “pour,” “open,” “flee.” God’s word will not stroll; it will sprint.
Cross-references
• 1 Samuel 16:1-13 – another quiet anointing that changes history.
• Revelation 1:5 – Jesus, “the faithful witness… ruler of the kings of
the earth,” is likewise anointed, though by cross not flask.
Jehu’s chariot barrels toward Jezreel. Twice sentries ask, “Is it shalom (peace)?” (vv. 17, 19). Jehu answers, “What peace?” – a rhetorical dagger. The phrase appears three times, heightening suspense.
Literary device: Repetition with variation intensifies tension—each rider who joins Jehu shows the inevitable spread of revolt.
When Jehu’s arrow pierces Joram’s heart on Naboth’s field, the land itself testifies. Older translations note the “portion” of Naboth. The Hebrew ḥeleq can mean “inheritance,” tying us to covenant law: land is God’s gift, not a king’s toy (Leviticus 25:23).
Suggested hymn: “Once to Every Man and Nation” (James Russell Lowell). Its sober call—“new occasions teach new duties”—echoes Jehu’s crossroads moment.
Jezebel paints her eyes (antimony kohl, common in Syro-Phoenician courts), arranges her hair, and calls Jehu “Zimri” (v. 31)—a cutting reference to the 7-day usurper of 1 Kings 16. She knows palace history and wields it like a spear.
Yet the eunuchs—men without lineage in that society—become God’s unlikely agents, throwing her down. Dogs devour her, fulfilling Elijah’s words (1 Kings 21:23). Only skull, feet, and palms remain—symbols of thought, walk, and work. Unrepentant rebellion loses mind, path, and legacy.
Cross-references
• Psalm 1:4 – “The wicked are like chaff…”
• Revelation 2:20 – Jesus confronts a church tolerating “that woman
Jezebel.”
God’s Long Memory
Centuries may pass, but covenant justice stands. Augustine wrote, “Time
does not unmake sin; only grace does.”
Human Zeal, Divine Purpose
Calvin warned that Jehu is both “minister of God’s vengeance” and
“mirror of our own ambition.” Later chapters will reveal mixed motives.
Zeal needs the tempering fire of holiness (Romans 12:11-19).
The Cost of Syncretism
Ahab and Jezebel grafted Baal onto Yahweh worship. Syncretism first
looks progressive, then becomes oppressive. Hosea 1:4 calls Jehu’s site
of victory “Jezreel,” later a by-word for bloodshed.
Voices from the Margins
A nameless prophet, courier officers, eunuchs—God delights to upend our
org charts (1 Corinthians 1:27).
• Cosmetics in the ancient Near East were not vanity alone; they
signaled status and invoked deities of beauty and power. Jezebel’s
painted eyes are her last sermon: “I die a queen.”
• Eunuchs, often put in charge of harems, were considered trustworthy
but socially powerless. Their decisive act overturns both patriarchal
and royal expectations.
• “Shalom” was a covenant word, deeper than “peace.” To ask, “Is it
shalom?” is to ask, “Are covenant relations intact?” Jehu’s “What
shalom?” is a theological indictment.
• Jerome saw in Jehu a type of Christ’s second coming—swift,
unstoppable judgment on false worship.
• Wesley cautioned that while Jehu executed judgment, he lacked “humble
love,” urging believers to wed zeal with charity.
• Karl Barth read Jezebel’s fall as a warning to any church that weds
itself to political power.
Righteous Father,
You remember every tear and every injustice. Purify our zeal, anchor it
in Your mercy, and keep us from the pride that felled Jezebel. May we
seek shalom that is rooted in Your covenant love, until the true King
comes riding in glory.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.