Speaker 1: Life Audio.
Speaker 2: For more resources to help you in your walk with Christ,
Speaker 2: please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters dot com. You're
Speaker 2: listening to the chapter today Audio Bible. I'm John Stangey,
Speaker 2: and today we're in Second King's chapter ten, and this
Speaker 2: is what we read. Ahab had seventy sons living in
Speaker 2: the city of Samaria. So Jaehu wrote letters and sent
Speaker 2: them to Samaria, to the elders and officials of the
Speaker 2: city and to the guardians of King Ahab's sons. He said,
Speaker 2: the king's sons are with you, and you have at
Speaker 2: your disposal chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weapons. As
Speaker 2: soon as you receive this letter, select the best qualified
Speaker 2: of your master's sons to be your king and prepare
Speaker 2: to fight for Ahab's dynasty. But they were paralyzed with
Speaker 2: fear and said, we've seen that two kings couldn't stand
Speaker 2: against this man. What can we do? So the palace
Speaker 2: and city administrators, together with the elders and the guardians
Speaker 2: of the king's sons, sent this message to Jayhu. We
Speaker 2: are your servants and will do anything you tell us.
Speaker 2: We will not make anyone king do whatever you think
Speaker 2: is best. Jayhu responded with a second letter. If you
Speaker 2: are on my side and are going to obey me,
Speaker 2: bring the heads of your master's sons to me at Jezreel.
Speaker 2: By this time tomorrow now, the seventy sons of the
Speaker 2: king were being cared for by the leaders of Samaria,
Speaker 2: where they had been raised since childhood. When the letter arrived,
Speaker 2: the leaders killed all seventy of the king's sons. They
Speaker 2: placed their heads in baskets and presented them to Jayhu
Speaker 2: at Jezreel. A messenger went to Jayhu and said, they
Speaker 2: have brought the heads of the king's sons. So jay
Speaker 2: Who ordered pile them in two heaps at the entrance
Speaker 2: of the city gate and leave them there until morning.
Speaker 2: In the morning, he went out and spoke to the
Speaker 2: crowd that had gathered around them. You are not to blame,
Speaker 2: he told them, I am the one who conspired against
Speaker 2: my master and killed him. But who killed all these,
Speaker 2: you can be sure that the message of the Lord
Speaker 2: that was spoken concerning Ahab's family will not fail. The
Speaker 2: Lord declared through his servant Elijah that this would happen.
Speaker 2: Then jay Who killed all who were left of Ahab's
Speaker 2: relatives living in Jezreel and all his important officials, his
Speaker 2: personal friends, and his priests. So Ahab was left without
Speaker 2: a single survivor. Then jay Who set out for Samaria.
Speaker 2: Along the way, while he was at beth Ekeed of
Speaker 2: the Shepherds, he met some relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah.
Speaker 2: Who are you, he asked them, and they replied, we
Speaker 2: are relatives of King Ahaziah. We are going to visit
Speaker 2: the sons of King Ahab and the sons of the
Speaker 2: Queen Mother. Take them alive, Jayhu shouted to his men,
Speaker 2: and they captured all forty two of them and killed
Speaker 2: them at the well of beth a Ked.
Speaker 1: None of them escaped.
Speaker 2: When Jayhu left there, he met Johonadab, son of Recab.
Speaker 1: Who was coming to meet him.
Speaker 2: After they had greeted each other, jay Who said to him,
Speaker 2: are you as loyal to me as I am to you?
Speaker 1: Yes, i am.
Speaker 2: Johonahdab replied if you are, jay Who said, then give
Speaker 2: me your hand. So Johonahdab put out his hand and
Speaker 2: Jayhu helped him into the chariot. Then Jayhu said, now
Speaker 2: come with me and see how devoted I am to
Speaker 2: the Lord, so Johonahdab rode along with him. When Hu
Speaker 2: arrived in some area, he killed everyone who was left
Speaker 2: there from Ahab's family, just as the Lord had promised
Speaker 2: through Elijah. Then Jay who called a meeting of all
Speaker 2: the people of the city and said to them, Ahab's
Speaker 2: worship of Bail was nothing compared to the way I
Speaker 2: will worship him. Therefore, summon all the prophets and worshipers
Speaker 2: of Bail and call together all his priests. See to
Speaker 2: it that every one of them comes, for I am
Speaker 2: going to offer a great sacrifice to Bail. Anyone who
Speaker 2: fails to come will be put to death. But Jay,
Speaker 2: who's cunning plan was to destroy all the worshipers of Bail.
Speaker 2: Then Jay who ordered prepare a solemn assembly to worship Bail.
Speaker 1: So they did.
Speaker 2: He sent messengers throughout all Israel, summoning those who worshiped Bail.
Speaker 2: They all came. Not a single one remained behind, and
Speaker 2: they filled the temple of Bail from one end to
Speaker 2: the other. And Jay, who instructed the keeper of the wardrobe,
Speaker 2: be sure that every worshiper of Bail wears one of
Speaker 2: these robes. So robes were given to them Then Jayhu
Speaker 2: went into the Temple of Bail with Johonadab, son of Recap.
Speaker 2: Jayhu said to the worshipers of Bail, make sure no
Speaker 2: one who worships the Lord is here, only those who
Speaker 2: worship Bail. So they were all inside the temple to
Speaker 2: offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jayhu had stationed eighty
Speaker 2: of his men outside the building and had warned them,
Speaker 2: if you let anyone escape, you will pay for it
Speaker 2: with your own life. As soon as Jayhu had finished
Speaker 2: sacrificing the burnt offering, he commanded his guards and officers
Speaker 2: go in and kill all of them. Don't let a
Speaker 2: single one escape. So they killed them all with their swords,
Speaker 2: and the guards and officers dragged their outside. Then Jehu's
Speaker 2: men went into the innermost fortress of the Temple of Bail.
Speaker 2: They dragged out the sacred pillar used in the worship
Speaker 2: of Bail and burned it. They smashed the sacred pillar
Speaker 2: and wrecked the Temple of Bail, converting it into a
Speaker 2: public toilet, as it remains to this day. In this way,
Speaker 2: Jehu destroyed every trace of Bail worship from Israel. He
Speaker 2: did not, however, destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan,
Speaker 2: with which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to sin. Nonetheless,
Speaker 2: the Lord said to Jehu, you have done well in
Speaker 2: following my instructions to destroy the family of Ahab. Therefore
Speaker 2: your descendants will be kings of Israel down to the
Speaker 2: fourth generation. But Jehu did not obey the law.
Speaker 1: Of the Lord, the God of Israel. With all his heart.
Speaker 2: He refused to from the sins that Jeroboam had led
Speaker 2: Israel to commit. At about that time, the Lord began
Speaker 2: to cut down the size of Israel's territory. King Hazel
Speaker 2: conquered several sections of the country east of the Jordan River,
Speaker 2: including all of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manassa. He conquered
Speaker 2: the area from the town of Auror by the Arnan
Speaker 2: Gorge to as far north as Gilead and Bashan. The
Speaker 2: rest of the events in Jaehu's reign, everything he did
Speaker 2: and all his achievements are recorded in the Book of
Speaker 2: the History of the Kings of Israel. When Jayhu died,
Speaker 2: he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Jehoahaz became
Speaker 2: the next king. In all Jayhu reigned over Israel from
Speaker 2: Samaria for twenty eight years.
Speaker 1: Let's pray we.
Speaker 2: Thank you for your word, and we thank you for
Speaker 2: the privilege of being able to look at it today.
Speaker 2: And Lord, as we look at this portion of scripture,
Speaker 2: we see that you raised up Jehu, and you used
Speaker 2: him as an agent of your judgment against those who
Speaker 2: worshiped Bail And it seems throughout this chapter up to
Speaker 2: a point that he was very zealous for your name
Speaker 2: and for your work. But Lord, we could see that
Speaker 2: in the end he chose not to follow you with
Speaker 2: all of his heart. And Lord, that's something that we
Speaker 2: wrestle with as well. Sometimes we're very selective in the
Speaker 2: ways that we choose to follow you. Sometimes we welcome
Speaker 2: idols into our lives when we know that we should
Speaker 2: worship you with sincere hearts and minds that have been
Speaker 2: transformed through faith in Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1: Your son.
Speaker 2: Lord, we pray that throughout the course of our lives
Speaker 2: that we would not hold anything back from you. And
Speaker 2: we pray Lord that where we seem to be holding
Speaker 2: things back, we pray that you would reveal those things
Speaker 2: to us and help us to see and understand what
Speaker 2: it means to love you completely with all our hearts,
Speaker 2: with all our minds, with all our strength, with every
Speaker 2: aspect of our lives, because you have given us new
Speaker 2: life through faith in your son Jesus. So Lord, we
Speaker 2: thank you that you can accomplish these things in our life,
Speaker 2: and we commit this day to your care. We pray
Speaker 2: this all in Jesus' name.
Speaker 1: Amen,