Jehu, the new king of Israel, met a man named Jehonadab and asked him to ride with him in his chariot. We know very little about Jehonadab the son of Rechab, but Jeremiah mentions him and the Rechabites (35:1\u201316). At Jehonadab\u2019s command, the Rechabites did not plant fields or drink wine, so they probably saw the Israelites as soft and materialistic. Jehonadab had heard that the new king was destroying Baal worship in Israel and wanted to meet him, and Jehu wanted to show Jehonadab his zeal for the Lord and that things were changing for the good in the northern kingdom. Maybe Jehonadab hoped the king’s zeal would lead the nation to national repentance.<\/p>\n
Paul the apostle tells us in the Book of Romans that zeal for the Lord is a good thing, but it must be according to knowledge (10:1\u20133). How careful we must be in our zeal, because zeal without knowledge can lead to fanaticism, which brings out the worst in people and religion. While Jehu did remove the worship of Baal from the land, he did not destroy the idol worship instituted by Jeroboam. His zeal for God seems to have been more political than religious, and so, sadly, his agenda didn\u2019t really include God.<\/p>\n
There is an old story that illustrates zeal without knowledge that is both funny and instructive. When Dr. William Sangster was pastor of the large Methodist church in Scarborough, he had an eccentric member who tried to be a zealous Christian. The man was mentally deficient and usually did the wrong thing. While working as a barber, he lathered up a customer for a shave and then came at him with the poised razor, asking, “Are you prepared to meet your God?” The frightened man fled with the lather still on his face!<\/p>\n
“LORD, please give us zeal along with knowledge for You today.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 Kings 10 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab\u2019s\u00a0children\u00a0<\/em>, saying,\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master\u2019s sons\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>with you, and\u00a0there are\u00a0<\/em>with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0Look even out the best and meetest of your master\u2019s sons, and set\u00a0him<\/em> on his father\u2019s throne, and fight for your master\u2019s house.\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0And he that\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>over the house, and he that\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up\u00a0of the children\u00a0<\/em>, sent to Jehu, saying, We are\u00a0<\/em>thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou\u00a0that which is<\/em>good in thine eyes.\u00a06<\/sup>\u00a0Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye\u00a0be\u00a0<\/em>mine, and\u00a0if\u00a0<\/em>ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master\u2019s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king\u2019s sons,\u00a0being\u00a0<\/em>seventy persons,\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>with the great men of the city, which brought them up.\u00a0\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king\u2019s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him\u00a0them\u00a0<\/em>to Jezreel. 8<\/sup> And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king\u2019s sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye\u00a0be<\/em>righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the\u00a0LORD, which the\u00a0LORD\u00a0spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the\u00a0LORDhath done\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>which he spake by his servant Elijah.\u00a0\u00a011<\/sup>\u00a0So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.\u00a012<\/sup>\u00a0And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria.\u00a0And<\/em>as he\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>at the shearing house in the way,\u00a0 13<\/sup>\u00a0Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>ye? And they answered, We\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.\u00a014<\/sup>\u00a0And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>two and forty men; neither left he any of them. 15<\/sup> And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab\u00a0coming\u00a0<\/em>to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give\u00a0me\u00a0<\/em>thine hand. And he gave\u00a0him\u00a0<\/em>his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the\u00a0LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the\u00a0LORD, which he spake to Elijah.18<\/sup>\u00a0And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little;\u00a0but\u00a0<\/em>Jehu shall serve him much.\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice\u00a0to do\u00a0<\/em>to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.\u00a020<\/sup>\u00a0And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.\u00a0\u00a022<\/sup>\u00a0And he said unto him that\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.\u00a023<\/sup>\u00a0And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the\u00a0LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.\u00a024<\/sup>\u00a0And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said,\u00a0If\u00a0<\/em>any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape,\u00a0he that letteth him go\u00a0<\/em>, his life\u00a0shall be\u00a0<\/em>for the life of him.\u00a025<\/sup>\u00a0And it came to pass, 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,\u00a0and<\/em>slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast\u00a0them\u00a0<\/em>out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.\u00a0\u00a026<\/sup>\u00a0And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.\u00a0\u00a027<\/sup>\u00a0And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.\u00a028<\/sup>\u00a0Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. 29<\/sup> Howbeit\u00a0from\u00a0<\/em>the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them,\u00a0to wit\u00a0<\/em>, the golden calves that\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>in Beth-el, and that\u00a0were<\/em>in Dan.\u00a030<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing\u00a0that which is\u00a0<\/em>right in mine eyes,\u00a0and<\/em>hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that\u00a0was<\/em>in mine heart, thy children of the fourth\u00a0generation\u00a0<\/em>shall sit on the throne of Israel.\u00a031<\/sup>\u00a0But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.\u00a0 32<\/sup>\u00a0In those days the\u00a0LORD\u00a0began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;\u00a0 33<\/sup>\u00a0From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a034<\/sup>\u00a0Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might,\u00a0are<\/em>they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?\u00a035<\/sup>\u00a0And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.\u00a036<\/sup>And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria\u00a0was<\/em>twenty and eight years.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jehu, the new king of Israel, met a man named Jehonadab and asked him to ride with him in his chariot. We know very little about Jehonadab the son of Rechab, but Jeremiah mentions him and the Rechabites (35:1\u201316). At Jehonadab\u2019s command, the Rechabites did not plant fields or drink wine, so they probably saw […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6855"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6855"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16280,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6855\/revisions\/16280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}