2 Kings 10 "The Destruction of the Antichrist" SING PSALM 2 !!!! We have seen that the house of Omri is the Antichrist of Israel. David is the Anointed One (the Meshiach), and his son is the LORD's anointed so the son of David is the Christ. Omri, the father of Ahab, parallels and parodies David. He was the general of the prior king, who (after the death of the prior king) ascends the throne, builds a new capital city (like David's Jerusalem), and his son (Ahab) builds a temple to his god (like Solomon). So the son of Omri is the parody of the son of David. So if the son of David is the Christ, the anointed one, then the son of Omri is the Anti-christ, the parody of the Christ who arises from within the church and seeks to supplant the LORD's anointed. Last time we saw the beginning of the destruction of the house of Ahab, and tonight we will see its utter eradication from the face of the earth. This is a reminder to us of how our Lord Jesus Christ overthrows every antichrist. Every power that arrays itself against the Lord and his anointed will be overthrown. Last time we saw how Jehu is the only "christ" in the northern kingdom of Israel. He is the only anointed king in the history of the northern kingdom. He is also the closest thing to a good king that Israel ever had. In faithfulness to the word of the LORD, he assassinated both Joram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah, self-consciously bringing to pass the word of the LORD through the prophet Elijah. Jehu has killed the leaders of the house of Ahab, but that is not all that Elijah had said. It is not enough to overthrow the antichrist, you must destroy everything that belongs to him. Just as Israel was to destroy the Canaanites entirely devoting them to destruction so now Jehu is to destroy the house of Ahab devoting it to destruction because Ahab had tried to turn Israel back into Canaan. Ahab was the one who had introduced Baal worship into Israel, even building a temple to Baal. Now all traces of Ahab and his line will be eradicated from Israel. As you hear the story of Jehu, remember that Jehu is a type a picture of the Messiah to come. As Jehu eradicates the house of Ahab, so also our Lord Jesus Christ will eradicate the house of every antichrist. One scholar suggests that there are seven acts of destruction and death in Jehu's coup, arguing that there is a new creation theme here. It's a nice sounding argument, but there is one problem. There are eight discrete acts of death and destruction in Jehu's coup: 1 the shooting of Joram (9:24-26) 2 the shooting of Ahaziah (9:27-28) 3 the throwing down and trampling of Jezebel (9:30-37) 4 the slaughter of the 70 sons (10:1-10) 5 the striking down of the followers of Ahab in Jezreel (10:11) 6 the slaughter of the 42 relatives (10:12-14) 7 the striking down of the followers of Ahab in Samaria (10:17) 8 the striking down of the worshipers of Baal (10:18-27) (The guy who did seven left out the striking down of the followers in Jezreel in verse 11, but if you leave that one out, then why not leave out the similar event in Samaria in v 17) Of course, this is not entirely surprising to us because new creation/worship themes are usually connected with the eighth day. And here it is the eighth act of death and destruction that eliminates Baal worship from Israel. Jehu comes in like a flood as Yahweh's instrument for clearing away the debris and beginning a new Israel. 1. Samaria Surrenders the Heads of the Seventy Sons of Ahab (10:1-11) Jehu has killed the kings of Israel and Judah. He has control of the second most important city in the northern kingdom, but Ahab still has seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu takes a diplomatic approach. Rather than attack Samaria (which would result in the death of many people he hopes to govern) Jehu sends a letter to the rulers of the city. You've got cities, You've got weapons, You've got chariots. I'm here in Jezreel. Come get me! If you trust in the house of Ahab, come get me! But they were exceedingly afraid and said, Behold, the two kings could not stand before him. How then can we stand? The rulers of Samaria have wisdom enough to know that no one can stand against the LORD and his anointed. So they reply by offering themselves as his servants. We will do all that you tell us. So Jehu tests them: If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time. This is intentionally ambiguous. I can imagine the discussion that night in Samaria: "What does he mean by 'heads'? Is he saying he wants to see the leaders among the sons of Ahab? Or is he saying he wants us to cut off their heads?" "He probably means that he wants to see the leading sons of Ahab " "Yes, but if he wants us to cut off their heads, and we show up with them alive, what will he do to us?!" So as soon as the letter came to them, they took the king's sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. The ambiguity of Jehu's instruction is found in his response: when he hears that the heads of Ahab's sons have been delivered he has them placed in two heaps, and the next morning he tells the people of Jezreel, You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? Jehu says, hey, I didn't kill them. I just wanted to see the heads of Ahab's sons . . . ! But Jehu's conclusion is crucial for understanding his role: Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the LORD has done what he said by his servant Elijah. Jehu understands that he is the agent of the LORD in accomplishing God's purposes. The word of the LORD is powerful, and it will accomplish his purpose. Remember that! Verse 11 then tells us that Jehu struck down all the great men and close friends and priests who were in Jezreel. Not just his sons, but all his allies are destroyed. Those who ally themselves with the antichrist will be destroyed. Now, if you are thinking that the antichrist is only a figure at the end of history, then you may not see the point. 1 John 2:18-27 is the one passage in scripture that talks about the antichrist. John tells us that it is the last hour (so the last hour started in the first century!) And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. Antichrist is not especially an individual. Certainly individuals may be antichrists (like Ahab), but John has a larger picture in view. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. The Antichrist is one who arises within the bosom of the church, but denies that Jesus is the Christ thereby denying both the Father and the Son. For no one who denies the Son has the Father. If you want to identify antichrists, look for people like Ahab and Jezebel people who rule in the church, and yet whose teaching and government effectively denies Christ. Jehu reminds us in word and in deed that those who belong to antichrists will be destroyed. If you follow Ahab, you will share in his fate. Of course, we've seen repeatedly throughout Kings that there were many in the service of Ahab who were faithful to Yahweh-- such as the eunuchs of Jezebel who threw her down at the command of the LORD's anointed. Jehu himself is a good example. After all, Jehu had served antichrist! But when the time came and the Word of the LORD called him to act, Jehu arose and slaughtered all who would not repent of their service to Ahab. Those who refuse to follow the LORD's anointed will perish. 2. Forty-two Relatives of Ahaziah Go Down to the Pit (10:12-14) So Jehu set out for Samaria, and as he goes he encounters 42 men from the house of Ahaziah the king of Judah. When he finds out that they are relatives of Ahaziah, who are on their way to visit the royal princes and the sons of the queen mother, he took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-Eked. 42 men of the house of David go down to the pit at the hand of Jehu. Why? Why does Jehu now attack the house of David? Because, as we've seen, the house of David has intermarried with the house of Ahab. The curse of Ahab is upon the seed of David. As Peter Leithart puts it, "the house of David had become a branch on the family tree of Ahab, and when the tree of Ahab was chopped down, the branch of David fell with it." What is the lesson here? Do not intermarry with the house of Ahab! Paul puts it this way, I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler not even to eat with such a one. (1 Cor 5:11) Or as he reminds the Corinthians in 2 Cor 6:14, Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. (We often restrict this to marriage but if you listen to the context, Paul plainly means it in a broader sense than that!) For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. Certainly intermarrying with Antichrist is about the worst thing you could do! But the warning is deeper: you are the temple of the living God, so do not dwell in the temples of paganism! James warns that friendship with the world is enmity with God. Do you really think that you can fill your minds with pop culture and still think straight? Do you really think that you can spend your time with fools and not become a fool? The house of David learns the hard way, that if you marry into the house of Ahab, you will not escape when judgment comes! 3. Jehonadab and Jehu's Zeal for the LORD (10:15-17) Jehu continues on the road to Samaria and comes across Jehonadab the son of Rechab. The author of Kings seems to assume that you know who Jehonadab was. The reason for this is that the Rechabites were famous in Israel. In Jeremiah 35 we hear about the Rechabites. Jonadab, the son of Rechab, had commanded his family not to drink wine, not to build houses, not to sow seed, nor plant a vineyard, but to live in tents all their days. While we are not told why, it would seem to be that Jonadab recognized that God's judgment was against Israel. What is the point of building houses or planting vineyards? Israel has no future, and so he charged his sons to be a living example to Israel. And for more than 250 years the Rechabites obeyed the voice of their father. And God says to Judah through Jeremiah, A father told his children to do this and they did it. I have told you not to follow other gods, but you have not listened! Why couldn't you be like the Rechabites!! So the reason why no introduction was needed, is because everyone knew who Jehonadab was! But when Jehu saw Jehonadab he asked, Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours? And Jehonadab said It is. Jehonadab rejoiced to see the slaughter of the house of Ahab. And so Jehu brought Jehonadab into the chariot with him: Come with me, and see my zeal for Yahweh. And zeal for Yahweh results in the slaughter of the house of Ahab in Samaria, according to the word of Yahweh that he spoke to Elijah. Jehu demands total commitment is your heart true to my heart? Jehu had commanded the messengers of Joram to "Turn around and follow me." Jehu is calling Israel to be his disciples who will follow him in overthrowing the temple of Baal and restoring the kingdom of God in Israel. Even so, as we saw from Luke's gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ will come to Jerusalem, and as Jehu had the cloaks of his men thrown before his feet, so also will Jesus. As Jehu issues the call to follow me, so also will Jesus. And as Jehu comes to destroy the temple of Baal, so also will Jesus destroy the temple in Jerusalem. The call "follow me" is a call to join a revolution a coup a war to the death against the principalities and powers of this world. We are soldiers in the army of Christ, and we are called to entire devotion to Jesus in this war. That is also why James says that friendship with the world is enmity with God. You cannot love the world and love God at the same time. 4. Destroying Baal Worship in Israel (10:18-27) After Jehu has destroyed the political leadership of the house of Ahab, he turns to the religious leadership of the worship of Baal. And he crafts a cunning plot to destroy the worshipers of Baal. Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests. Let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal. (Indeed, he does!) Whoever is missing shall not live. (What he leaves out is that whoever comes also shall not live!) So he called together all the worshipers of Baal, and he and Jehonadab urged the worshipers of Baal, Search, and see that there is no servant of Yahweh here among you, but only the worshipers of Baal. And then they (and I think we need to say that the "they" are Jehu and Jehonadab) went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. I think I would be willing to say that Jehu and Jehonadab did not sin in that offering! They offered a burnt offering to Baal. Verse 25 says that as soon as the burnt offering was offered, he and Jehonadab left. Think about it. What comes after the burnt offering? The peace offering. The burnt offering opens worship by getting the attention of the deity you might say. In Leviticus the burnt offering to Yahweh is a "pleasing aroma" it is a declaration of submission and service. The peace offering is the sacrifice of communion and fellowship. Jehu and Jehonadab are getting the attention of Baal, you might say. They are mocking him O Baal, your faithful servants are here! Guess what? We've got a peace offering for you!! Go in and strike them down; let not a man escape. And the guard and the officers slaughtered the worshipers of Baal, brought out the pillar from the inner room of the temple, and burned it. And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and they demolished the house of Baal, And then to add insult to the whole affair, they made it a latrine to this day. You want a pillar, Baal, well, get a load of this! Mocking idols is a good thing! 5. But Jehu Was Not Careful (10:28-31) Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel (v28). It's not just that he wiped out Baal worship. He wiped out Baal. But as verse 31 puts it, Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin. Jehu did not return to Jerusalem and worship in the temple. While he was devoted to Yahweh, in his own way, that was the problem! He was devoted to Yahweh in his own way! Nonetheless he is the only king in the northern kingdom to be commended as one who "did well" Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart (notice that Jehu is truly a king after God's own heart to a certain extent) and therefore God promises, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. Jehu started well, but he was not careful. And his heart turned aside and followed his own wisdom, rather than trust the Word of the LORD. 6. Therefore, Israel Shrank (10:32-36) And therefore, Israel shrank. In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel. Hazael captured the eastern part of the kingdom the land beyond the Jordan and therefore many Israelites came under the rule of Damascus. The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassites were cut off from Israel. We see this happening in our own day. The mainline churches have been shrinking. God has been cutting off parts of Israel. As it was in the days of the Kings, so it is today! As Israel becomes more and more like the nations around them, Israel becomes the nations around them, and Israelites serve the nations instead of their own anointed King. As the church becomes more and more like the world, the church becomes the world, and the church serves the world instead of the Christ. And so I think it is safe to say that the far left wing of the mainline churches are indeed, no longer churches. When you baptize in the name of the mother, the daughter, and the womb, there is nothing recognizably Christian left. But if we smugly point our fingers at them, then we miss the point. Because the best king in Israel was not careful to walk in God's ways. And even so, the best churches today are still caught up in the sin of Jeroboam failing to walk in the law of the LORD refusing to worship in Jerusalem. We are called to worship in the heavenly Jerusalem, but we are not careful, and too often we worship at the golden calves of economic prosperity or self-serving entertainment. For Jehu to worship in Jerusalem, he would have had to acknowledge that Israel was not what it should be. He would have had to encourage his people to see the northern kingdom as a temporary necessity, but not as an end in itself. Even so, I have to tell you that the PCA is a temporary necessity. In the divided kingdom of the modern church, we need to remember that our divisions are not good. We may not build up our empires, jealously maintaining our divisions for the sake of our own piece of the pie. We must gather in the heavenly Jerusalem, together with all the saints in all the earth, in all ages, and seek first the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.