ESOCS Devotional 10 October 2025 -God’s Righteous Judgment Against Un-repentance
MEMORY VERSE: “But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.” 2 Kings 10:31 KJV
TEXT: 2 KINGS 10:18-36
Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal. 20 And Jehu said, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the temple of Baal, and the temple of Baal was full from one end to the other. 22 And he said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out vestments for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” 24 So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be his life for the life of the other.”
25 Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out!” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal. 26 And they brought the sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them. 27 Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal and made it a refuse dump to this day. 28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.
29 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. 30 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.” 31 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.
32 In those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel; and Hazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel 33 from the Jordan eastward: all the land of Gilead—Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh—from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, including Gilead and Bashan.
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 35 So Jehu rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. 36 And the period that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
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Jehu was not a godly king, but he was used as an instrument of God to end the wicked dynasty of Ahab, in accordance with Elijah’s prophecy in 1 Kings 21. Jehu was also used of God to remove the worship of Baal that was going on in the northern kingdom of Israel.
God specifically spelled out His exact judgment a generation earlier. Ahab’s 70 sons should not have found Jehu’s plan to kill them a surprise. A generation earlier, God told Elijah that every single male descendant of Ahab would die for their sins (1 Kings. 21:21-22).
In response to this judgment, only Ahab repented. Thus, God only spared him from judgment, not his wife or sons (1 Kings 21:27-28). Because God’s exact future judgment was spelled out a generation earlier, each person had many chances to repent. God’s warnings in the Bible should always be taken seriously. He does not want to judge His people. “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9). Yet, because He is just, He must still judge sin.
Jehu proposed a national convention of Baal worshippers, pretending he was on their side. All of the prophets and worshippers of Baal throughout the land were gathered together inside the temple of Baal in Samaria. After some offerings were made to Baal, Jehu ordered his military men to go in and execute everyone with the edge of the sword. No one escaped. Then Jehu ordered the destruction of all the images of Baal and the temple of Baal.
Now, the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have been so good in executing my judgment against the house of Ahab, your children will serve on those thrones to the fourth generation.” But [unfortunately] Jehu did not take heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all of his heart (2 Kings 10:30-31)
So at this point, Hazael began smiting the borders of Israel – on the east side of the Jordan River. Why? Because Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the God of Israel with all his heart. His partial obedience had both its rewards and its losses.
CHALLENGES
- Do you heed God’s warnings as he speaks through the scriptures?
PRAYER POINT
- Lord, give me a heart willing to do your will to your glory in Jesus’ name. Amen.
FURTHER READING: 2 Kings 11:1-10; 2 Corinthians 12:1-21
ESOCS Devotional 10 October 2025
