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Jehu was still reigning in
Samaria. When he came there he slew all who were left of Ahab's
family. God's word by Elijah was now fulfilled. God never
forgets His threatenings to His enemies, nor His promises to His
friends. What a fearful thing it is, then, to have Him for an enemy;
and what a blessing to have Him for a friend! Jehu
called all the people together, and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a
little, but I will serve him much. Call all the prophets and
servants of Baal to me. I am going to make a great feast and
sacrifice to Baal, and I shall put to death all who do not
come." Then all the people who worshiped Baal in the land of
Israel, made themselves ready, and came to the sacrifice in the house of
Baal. The house was full from one end to the other, with these
wicked idolaters. Then Jehu told his servants to bring robes for all
the worshipers of Baal, and the servants obeyed. Jehu did all this
deceitfully; he did not really worship Baal; he only pretended that he
served him. Why? Because he wished to deceive the idolaters,
and to bring them together that he mighty slay them. Was all this
right? It was right to destroy Baal, but very wrong to do it so
deceitfully. Deceit can never be right in any thing. All we do
ought to be done in truth and sincerity. When
the worshipers of Baal were gathered together, Jehu sent to see that none
of the Lord's servants were among them; for only Baal's people were to be
there. Then Jehu called a great many men, and told them to stand
outside the house. The people within were offering their sacrifices,
little thinking of the danger that was so near to them. Then Jehu
commanded the men to rush in, and slay all the worshipers of Baal, and not
let one escape. It was a dreadful sight. The soldiers ran into
the house of Baal, with their swords in their hands, and smote every one
there; men, and women, and children; all perished in their sin! Then
the men broke down Baal's house, and destroyed the images, and burnt them;
so there were no worshipers of Baal left in Israel. This was well,
but the people had idols still. They worshiped the golden calves
that Jeroboam had put in Bethel and in Dan. And Jehu had his idols
too. He had done many things that were right. He had obeyed
God's command about Ahab's family, and he had destroyed the worship of
Baal; and Jehu was very proud of the good things he had done, and boasted
about his zeal for the Lord. But Jehu was not a true servant of
God. He had never repented of his sins, nor prayed for a new heart,
nor served God with all his strength. He served God a little; but he
served the world, and his own pleasures and his sins much more.
Could God love and bless Jehu? No; for He wants all the
heart, and love, and service of people; not only a part of them, but
all. Those cannot be the children of God, who pretend to honor Him,
but do not really love Him. Many
people now are like Jehu. They talk about God, and say they are His
servants, and pretend to be very anxious for His honor, and perhaps boast
of the good things they do. But all the time these people's hearts
are not right. God looks there. Their neighbors can see only
what they do, and what they say; God knows what they feel, and what they
think. If they, in heart, love the world more than they love God,
they are not really His people; and they cannot deceive Him. We
ought to pray as David did, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try
me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and
lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23, 24.
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