God’s Judgment Fulfilled Through Jehu

King Joram, wounded in battle, had returned to Jezreel, and when Jehu approached he went out to meet him, supposing he brought news of victory. Of all places, the ground on which he stood was Naboth’s field, the very place where judgment had long ago been pronounced on the house of Ahab. Jehu shot him dead, and soon afterwards Jezebel was thrown from a window and met a wretched end.

God’s judgment on the house of Ahab had not fallen for more than fifteen years. Through all that time Joram lived with the word of the curse forgotten, and so, without any sense of alarm, he walked of his own accord into the place of judgment. What moved Jehu and the commanders who set him on the throne was not pure obedience; it was nearer to a political reaction born of weariness with long corruption. Yet whatever their motives, God’s word came to pass exactly as spoken, without the slightest deviation.

That God’s judgment is slow in coming does not mean it has gone away. The time of reprieve is the time of God’s long patience, given so that people might turn back. Jehu did not undertake this work out of love for God, but he was true to the charge entrusted to him, and for that diligence he received commendation and reward.