The Anointing of a Political Thunderbolt Text: 2 Kings 9:1-13
Introduction: When God Overturns the Tables
We live in an age that is deeply uncomfortable with the God of the Old Testament. Our generation prefers a God who is tame, a God who fits neatly into our modern sensibilities of tolerance and niceness, a God who would never, ever overturn the tables of the money changers, let alone an entire corrupt political regime. We want a divine therapist, a celestial butler, but not a sovereign King who judges nations and deposes wicked rulers.
The story of Jehu's anointing is a bucket of ice water to the face of such sentimentalism. It is raw, it is abrupt, it is violent, and it is inescapably political. This is not a quiet story about personal piety. This is a story about a prophet of God initiating a coup d'etat. This is a divine mandate for regime change. And if that makes us uncomfortable, it is likely because we have domesticated the Lion of Judah and tried to make Him a housecat. We have forgotten that the same God who commands us to love our enemies is also the God who commands the sword of justice to fall upon those who institutionalize rebellion against Him.
The house of Ahab, with Jezebel as its wicked heart, had become a cancer in Israel. It was a regime built on idolatry, theft, and the murder of God's prophets. The covenant nation was being dragged into the abyss of paganism. God had been patient. He had sent Elijah to confront them. He had warned them. But the time for warnings was over. The time for judgment had come. And God, who raises up kings and brings them down, was about to act through his appointed means: a prophet with a flask of oil and a military commander with a heart for zeal.
This passage is a direct challenge to any theology that seeks to create a hard separation between the sacred and the secular, between the church and the state. Here, the prophet of God directly intervenes in the political order, not with a polite suggestion, but with a divine command that will unleash a political and military whirlwind. This is a story that reminds us that God is Lord over all of life, and that He holds all rulers accountable to His law. When rulers become tyrants and persecutors of His people, they have not escaped His jurisdiction. They have simply ripened themselves for His judgment.
The Text
Now Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead. And you will come there and look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi. And you will come in and bid him arise from among his brothers. And you will cause him to come in to an inner room. Then you will take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee and do not wait.” So the young man, the young man of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. Then he came, and behold, the commanders of the military were sitting, and he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, O commander.” And he arose and came into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘I have anointed you king over the people of Yahweh, even over Israel. And you shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My slaves the prophets, and the blood of all the slaves of Yahweh, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male person both bond and free in Israel. And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the property of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.’ ” Then he opened the door and fled. Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his talk.” And they said, “It is a lie, declare it to us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he said to me, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ” Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!”
(2 Kings 9:1-13 LSB)
A Covert and Urgent Commission (vv. 1-4)
We begin with the prophet Elisha setting the stage for this divine intervention.
"Now Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, 'Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead... Then open the door and flee and do not wait.'" (2 Kings 9:1, 3)
Notice the urgency and the secrecy of this mission. Elisha himself does not go. He sends a subordinate, one of the "sons of the prophets." This is not a public ceremony. This is a covert operation. The instructions are precise: "Gird up your loins," which means prepare for swift action. Go to Ramoth-gilead, where the army is stationed. Find Jehu. Take him into an inner room, away from prying eyes. Anoint him. Deliver the message. And then, "open the door and flee and do not wait."
This is not a coronation; it is the lighting of a fuse. The young prophet is not to linger for questions or congratulations. His job is to deliver the divine spark and get out of the way before the explosion. This tells us that what is about to happen is dangerous, revolutionary, and divinely ordained. God's kingdom often advances not through grand, public pronouncements that everyone sees coming, but through quiet, decisive actions that take the world by surprise. The kingdom of God does not come with observation. A young man, a flask of oil, a private room, a whispered word from God, and an entire dynasty is about to be swept away.
This is a lesson in how God works. He uses means. He uses people. Elisha, the senior prophet, delegates. The young prophet obeys without question. The mission is carried out with precision. There is no committee meeting, no opinion poll, no testing the political winds. There is only the command of God and the obedience of His servant. This is a rebuke to all our modern churchly dithering and bureaucratic paralysis. When God commands, the proper response is to gird up our loins and go.
The Anointing and the Mandate (vv. 5-10)
The young prophet arrives and executes his mission exactly as commanded.
"And he arose and came into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, "I have anointed you king over the people of Yahweh, even over Israel. And you shall strike the house of Ahab your master..."'" (2 Kings 9:6-7)
The anointing itself is a powerful symbol. Oil in Scripture represents the Holy Spirit, the empowering presence of God for a specific task. Samuel anointed David in a similar private ceremony. This act sets Jehu apart. It is a divine commissioning. He is no longer just a military commander under King Joram; he is now the anointed king of Yahweh, tasked with a specific, bloody job.
And the mandate is brutally clear. "You shall strike the house of Ahab." This is not a suggestion. It is an imperative. And the reason is given: "that I may avenge the blood of My slaves the prophets, and the blood of all the slaves of Yahweh, at the hand of Jezebel." This is an act of retributive justice. The house of Ahab, and particularly Jezebel, had shed innocent blood. They had murdered God's prophets. God takes the murder of his servants personally. The state does not have ultimate authority; it is an authority under God, and when it uses its power to persecute the righteous, it becomes a rogue state, and God will hold it to account.
The prophecy is specific and terrifying. The entire house of Ahab will be exterminated, "like the house of Jeroboam" and "like the house of Baasha," two previous dynasties that God had wiped out for their apostasy. And for Jezebel, the prime mover of this wickedness, a particularly gruesome end is foretold: "the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the property of Jezreel, and none shall bury her." This is the fulfillment of Elijah's earlier prophecy (1 Kings 21:23). It is a judgment of utter contempt. To be unburied was the ultimate dishonor in the ancient world. God is saying that this wicked queen, who had terrorized His people, would be reduced to dog food. This is not pretty, but it is just. The God of the Bible is a God of justice, and His justice is not always neat and tidy.
The Madman and the Message (vv. 11-13)
The aftermath of the anointing reveals the stark contrast between the world's perception and God's reality.
"Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, 'Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?'" (2 Kings 9:11)
The other commanders see the young prophet as a "mad fellow." This was a common insult for prophets. Their behavior was strange. They spoke of things unseen. They were intense, zealous, and out of step with the pragmatic, cynical world of military and political power. To the world, the man of God often looks like a madman. Paul says something similar: "the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Jehu's initial response is evasive: "You know the man and his talk." He is testing them. He is being shrewd. But they press him, knowing something significant has happened. "It is a lie, declare it to us now." And so he tells them the plain, unvarnished truth: "Thus says Yahweh, 'I have anointed you king over Israel.'"
The reaction is instantaneous and unanimous. There is no hesitation. "Then they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, 'Jehu is king!'" This is a spontaneous act of allegiance. Spreading their garments was a sign of honor and submission, a makeshift red carpet for the new king (cf. Matthew 21:8). The blowing of the trumpet was the public declaration. The coup has begun. The word of the "mad fellow" has ignited a revolution.
This shows us that while the world may mock God's messengers, God's Word has the power to create reality. One moment, Jehu is a subordinate commander. The next, because of a word from a wild-eyed prophet, he is the king, and the entire military leadership is with him. This is because the hearts of men are in the hand of the Lord. When God decides to act, He can turn an entire army on a dime. Our job is not to be plausible to the world, but to be faithful to the Word of God. The results are in His hands.
Conclusion: Zeal, Justice, and the Fear of God
What are we to make of such a story? First, we must recognize that this is a unique moment in redemptive history. This was a theocratic nation in a covenant relationship with God, and God was acting as its direct King, enforcing the terms of His covenant. We are not in the same situation. The church is not a political state, and we are not called to take up the sword to overthrow our governments. The New Testament gives us clear instructions on how to live as faithful exiles under pagan rulers (Romans 13, 1 Peter 2).
However, this passage is not irrelevant. It teaches us profound and permanent truths. It teaches us that God judges wicked rulers. It teaches us that political authority is not absolute but is derived from God and accountable to Him. It teaches us that there comes a point when a regime's wickedness becomes so great that God will actively bring it to an end. He is the one who sets the boundaries for tyrants.
It also teaches us about zeal. Jehu is a complicated figure, and as we will see, his zeal was not entirely pure. But God used his zeal to accomplish His purposes. There is a place for a holy, righteous, and zealous anger against evil. We have become so placid, so concerned with being nice, that we have lost our capacity for biblical indignation. When we see the unborn slaughtered, when we see children sexualized, when we see the name of God blasphemed, a righteous anger, a zeal for the house of the Lord, should consume us. Not a zeal that leads to carnal violence, but a zeal that leads to bold proclamation, courageous opposition, and a refusal to compromise with evil.
Finally, this story should put the fear of God in us. God is not to be trifled with. His patience has a limit. His justice will come. For those who are in Christ, this is a profound comfort. The blood of the martyrs will be avenged. Every wicked ruler, every corrupt system, every persecutor of the church will one day face the judgment of the King of kings. And for those who stand in opposition to Him, this is a terrifying warning. The God who sent a "mad fellow" to anoint Jehu is the same God who will one day send His Son on a white horse, with eyes like a flame of fire, to strike the nations and rule them with a rod of iron. On that day, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.