2 Chronicles 22

Eliphaz said some foolish things to his suffering friend Job, but he also stated some eternal principles, one of them being, “Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same” (Job 4: nkjv). Solomon repeated this truth in Proverbs 22:8, “He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow” (nkjv), and the prophet Hosea put it graphically when he said, “They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind” (Hos. 8: nkjv). Jeroboam, Omri, and Ahab had led the northern kingdom of Israel into idolatry; and Jehoram, who married a daughter of Ahab, had introduced Baal worship into the kingdom of Judah. Both kingdoms were rebellious against the Lord and polluted by idolatry, but now the day of judgment had arrived for Ahab’s dynasty, the day that the prophet Elijah had predicted (1 Kings 21:21, 29).

Studying these two chapters gives you the feeling that you’re reading the morning paper or watching the ten o’clock news on television. You meet two leaders—Jehu, former army commander and now ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel, and Jehoiada, high priest at the temple in Jerusalem in the Southern Kingdom. As you watch these two men, you recognize the fact that the same forces for good and for evil were at work in their world that are at work in our own world today.

You also recognize the difference between leaders who are motivated by selfish ambition and leaders who are motivated by spiritual dedication. Jehu was proud of his “zeal for the Lord” (10:16), but that “zeal” was a pious cloak that hid the egotism and anger that really motivated his service. God gave Jehu an important work to do, but the king went beyond the assigned boundaries and carried his mandate too far. The Lord commended Jehu for what he accomplished (10:30), but He also chastened him for his pride and compromise. Humanly speaking, were it not for the courageous service of the high priest, Jehoiada, and his wife Jehosheba, the Davidic dynasty would have come to an end. The future of God’s promises to David, that involved His great plan of salvation, was all wrapped up in a little baby boy named Joash.

Let’s identify the forces that were at work in that day, forces that are still at work in our world today,