Matins Devotion: September 10, 2024

2 Kings 9:1-13, 10:18-29

Jehu is not exactly the purest of reforming kings. Yes, he does stamp out the worship of Baal. Yes, he is instrumental in destroying the worship of Jezebel’s false god, the one she tried with bloody hands to impose upon the children of God. But he doesn’t turn aside from the golden calves of Bethel and Dan. And likewise, the way he destroys the worship of Baal is not exactly righteous. He’s deceptive about his intentions, lying about how he will be a faithful servant of Baal in order to gather the mass of Baal worshippers and slaughter them. It’s God’s justice in the end, but it’s God’s justice poured out by a far from perfect king in a less-than-pure manner.

Very often, people will accuse Christians of thinking we’re “above it all” because we won’t make the political compromises they deem necessary to better the world or because we won’t punish our enemies the way they’d like. OK, well, if that’s the term people want to use, fine, yes. We’re above it all, which is to say, we’ve been set apart, which is to say that we’re holy. Christ has redeemed us and washed us in His blood. He’s made us children of His eternal kingdom. He has destroyed our idols and welcomed us into His embrace. Our hands are the hands of His beloved children, which means they aren’t meant to get dirty. 

So if God wants to raise up and use a Jehu, He will. And let us praise Him for the good He accomplishes through such a man. But let someone else be Jehu. If God wants to crush those who hate His Son and the Church, He will do so. And we will praise Him for it. But God doesn’t need our hatred to solve hatred. He doesn’t need our bitterness to cure bitterness. So be above it all. Love and serve your neighbors without sin. Thank God for Jehu but don’t become Jehu. Put not your trust in princes, but in the Son of God who has won your salvation.