The mighty miracles of Elisha—the witnesses of the grace of God to a guilty nation—have all been in vain. Israel refuses to turn from idols to the living God. The prophet may weep over the sorrows coming upon the nation, may foretell their miseries, be used to appoint the instruments that will be used to execute judgment, but, though he lives to a ripe old age, we hear of miracles no more.
Thus it comes to pass that Elisha sends one of the children of the prophets to anoint Jehu to be king, by the word of the Lord. The young man is to carry out his commission in a way that will clearly show Elisha has nothing in common with Jehu; for, having delivered his message, he is to " open the door, and flee, and tarry not."
The young man had two announcements to make to Jehu; first, that the Lord had anointed him to be " king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel." Second, he was to smite the house of Ahab, and thus avenge the blood of the servants, and prophets, of the Lord, shed by the wicked Jezebel.
To reach the throne was entirely in accord with the ambitions of Jehu. To smite the house of Ahab would appear to Jehu a sound policy to establish himself as king. Hence he carries out the directions of the Lord with greatest possible energy and zeal. However, God's motives were not Jehu's. God was dealing with evil, avenging the blood of his servants, and maintaining His own glory. Jehu was getting rid of all those who could oppose his ambitions. Jehu is very zealous in dealing with evil when it suits his own purpose, but quite indifferent to evil when he concludes it is politic to leave it alone. So it comes to pass he ruthlessly avenges the sins of the house of Ahab, while leaving untouched the sins of the house of Jeroboam. He destroys the worship of Baal; he preserves the golden calves. His hand was ready to use the sword against the enemies of the Lord, when it suited his own ends; his heart was utterly indifferent to the law of the Lord. So we read, " Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart " (10:28-30).
God, in His righteous judgment, while using Jehu to deal with the wicked house of Ahab is not unmindful of the mixed motives that energized Jehu, and the fact that in carrying out the vengeance of the Lord, he was simply indulging his own cruel heart for his own ends. If God has to deal in judgment, it is His strange work. If Jehu undertakes to deal with evil, it is to him a congenial task. Hence it is that while God uses Jehu to execute judgment on Jezreel, yet He says, by the prophet Hosea, " I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu; and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel " (Hos. 1:44And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. (Hosea 1:4)).