Following King Jehu’s act of destroying the house of Ahab, in Chapter 10 he continues to be portrayed as one who is obedient to the Lord’s calling. But was he truly obedient?

At the start of Chapter 10, Jehu put to death the 70 sons of Ahab, again fulfilling the judgment and word of the Lord. However, he did not just stop there. He also destroyed the house of King Ahaziah of Judah, something which was not commanded. Jehu’s obedience to God began to turn into personal pride and glory when he met Jehonadab and said to him, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord” (verse 16). Together, they went to Samaria, and Jehu struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out. Although this was done according to the word of the Lord that was spoken to Elijah, Jehu’s heart had began to turn to his own glory. He was proud of what he had done for the Lord.

Then, Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel, which fulfilled his calling as we had seen in Chapter 9. However, even though his actions were seemingly obedient to God, his heart was not. Verse 29 says, “But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin—that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan.” Jehu destroyed all that was evil in the sight of the Lord, but he was unable to turn away from the sins in his own life. He was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, with all his heart.

We may we doing all the right things a Christian should do – read the bible, pray, worship, serve in church, evangelise. But are our hearts wholly obedient to God? What are some things that has taken the priority and are taking our attention away from God? May we be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit that we do not worship others above God. May we continually submit ourselves to the Lord and to His Word with all of our hearts.

Sometimes we may be successful in our service. We hear many good things of the bible study we have led, the worship we have led, the programme we ran, the retreat we organised, etc, and we pat ourselves on our back and think that our jobs are done. When we have done well in our areas of service, may we be reminded to continually seek the Lord, and to give glory to Him. May we not let pride and complacency overtake us, and allow the works of our hands to become the object of zeal and pride, such that we forget that glory should be given to our sovereign Lord.

May our hearts be wholly dedicated to our Lord.

Prayer: Help me, Sovereign Lord, to be obedient to you, and my heart be wholly dedicated to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.