Fri.’s Devo - The Rise of Jehu -

Read: 2 Kings 9:14-10:31; Acts 17:1-34; Psalm 144:1-15; Proverbs 17:27-28 Yesterday, we read where King Joram of Israel had been injured fighting King Hazael of Aram and King Ahaziah of Judah had come to see about King Joram. Jehu rode up with his men to take over the kingdom. Both of the kings rode out to meet Jehu to find out if he was coming in peace. Jehu’s reply was, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel, are all around us?” That told them that Jehu was not coming in peace. As they turned to flee, Jehu shot Joram between the shoulders, piercing his heart, and he sank down dead in his chariot. Jehu had him thrown into the plot of land that had belonged to Naboth, just as Elijah had prophesied. Jehu chased Ahaziah and killed him also. Jezebel painted her eyes to meet Jehu. She was not trying to captivate him but overpower and intimidate him. To paint their eyes, they would put black charcoal on her eyelids much like the gothic-look of today. Jehu asked if there was anyone up there who was on his side and two eunuchs stuck their heads out. Jehu told them to throw her over and they did. Her body splattered on the ground where the birds ate her body just as was prophesied. Next, Jehu had the sons of Ahab killed. So 70 sons of Ahab had their heads cut off and delivered to Jehu. He piled them by the city gate for all to see. He wanted them to know that this was a people’s choice. He had killed the kings, but they had killed the sons. Jehu set out for Samaria and met some of the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. He had 42 of them killed since they were on Ahab’s side. Jehu then had all the prophets of Baal come to a meeting where he told them they would worship Baal. He had them put on a robe and made sure there was no one in the place that wasn’t a worshiper of Baal, then he had them all killed. Jehu is the picture of President Trump and we are about to see some heads roll. Seventy, to be exact with 42 others later. Jezebel is Hillary who is going to be judged and Joram is Obama. God is sitting on the throne of Justice and he is bringing down his gavel to pronounce sentences on some very deceitful people. In Acts, we see that when people disagreed with Paul’s teaching some of them actually checked it out in the Word and found the prophesies and knew that what they were preaching was truth. They traveled to Thessalonica which was a Greek city. They had statues of so many Greek gods that they worsiped but God gave Paul great strategy. He had seen a statue that read, “To the Unknown God”. He used that as his sermon theme. He preached to them that he knew the “Unknown God” and his name was God - creator of heaven and earth. He preached to them to the resurrection of the dead through the salvation of Jesus. Some laughed, others were intrigued and wanted to talk further and some followed and became believers. Lord, help us to see that not everyone is going to like us or believe what we say, but the ones who do are worth all the persecution and misunderstanding of the others.