2 Kings 9:1-3 – Live life with discretion

From 1 Kings 19:15, we learned that God had instructed Elijah to anoint three persons. He was to anoint Jehu as king of Israel, Hazael as King of Aram, and Elisha as a prophet to succeed him in the prophetic ministry. Jehu was only a captain in the army of Israel. God wanted to use him as his instrument to clean up the mess in Israel created by King Ahab. The judgment did not take place in Ahab’s time because he repented for a short time. So the judgment was delayed till the time of Joram, who evidently had perpetuated his father’s evil. Jehu came from the line of Nimshi. His  father shared the same name as King Jehoshaphat of Judah.

Although Jehu was to be anointed as king of Israel by Elijah to carry out God’s judgment on Ahab, his anointing did not take place until 2 Kings 9:1-13. The Bible did not mention why Elijah did not anoint Jehu. But we surmise that while he was assigned the task, it was Elisha who was delegated the duty. So in 2 Kings 9:1-13, we see how Jehu’s anointing took place through one of Elisha’s prophetic interns.

Second Kings 8 gave us the backdrop that set up the moment for Jehu to be anointed as the king of Israel. As a captain in Joram’s army, Jehu accompanied the king together with Ahaziah of Judah in the conflict with Hazael of Syria. In the battle, Joram was wounded and had to return to Jezreel to recuperate. Since the judgment on Ahab’s household by Jehu was about to begin, the time to anoint him has arrived. In 2 Kings 9:1-3, we see Elisha instructing his prophetic intern, who was to go and anoint Jehu.

Elisha told his prophetic intern saying, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead.” The anointing was to be done secretly but hurriedly. We can understand the need for the mission, but we are puzzled by the way this mission had to be carried out. Why was it needful for the mission to be done so hurriedly? Why was it needful for the prophetic intern to disappear immediately after the task? This we guess was for the safety of the person doing the task. His life would be in danger if he had been spotted by one of Joram’s loyalists. Leaving immediately would make it less likely for him to be noticed. All these call for discretion.

A lesson we can pick up from these three verses is about discretion. It pays to be discreet in life. Hear what Proverbs 2:11-15 has to say about discretion and being discreet:

From 1 Kings 19:15, we learned that God had instructed Elijah to anoint three persons. He was to anoint Jehu as king of Israel, Hazael as King of Aram, and Elisha as a prophet to succeed him in the prophetic ministry. Jehu was only a captain in the army of Israel. God wanted to use him as his instrument to clean up the mess in Israel created by King Ahab. The judgment did not take place in Ahab’s time because he repented for a short time. So the judgment was delayed till the time of Joram, who evidently had perpetuated his father’s evil. Jehu came from the line of Nimshi. His  father shared the same name as King Jehoshaphat of Judah.

Although Jehu was to be anointed as king of Israel by Elijah to carry out God’s judgment on Ahab, his anointing did not take place until 2 Kings 9:1-13. The Bible did not mention why Elijah did not anoint Jehu. But we surmise that while he was assigned the task, it was Elisha who was delegated the duty. So in 2 Kings 9:1-13, we see how Jehu’s anointing took place through one of Elisha’s prophetic interns.

Second Kings 8 gave us the backdrop that set up the moment for Jehu to be anointed as the king of Israel. As a captain in Joram’s army, Jehu accompanied the king together with Ahaziah of Judah in the conflict with Hazael of Syria. In the battle, Joram was wounded and had to return to Jezreel to recuperate. Since the judgment on Ahab’s household by Jehu was about to begin, the time to anoint him has arrived. In 2 Kings 9:1-3, we see Elisha instructing his prophetic intern, who was to go and anoint Jehu.

Elisha told his prophetic intern saying, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead.” The anointing was to be done secretly but hurriedly. We can understand the need for the mission, but we are puzzled by the way this mission had to be carried out. Why was it needful for the mission to be done so hurriedly? Why was it needful for the prophetic intern to disappear immediately after the task? This we guess was for the safety of the person doing the task. His life would be in danger if he had been spotted by one of Joram’s loyalists. Leaving immediately would make it less likely for him to be noticed. All these call for discretion.

A lesson we can pick up from these three verses is about discretion. It pays to be discreet in life. Hear what Proverbs 2:11-15 has to say about discretion and being discreet:

Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things;
From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
Who delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
Whose paths are crooked,
And who are devious in their ways….