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One-sentence summary: The Lord avenges the blood of the prophets by destroying Ahab's house and Jezebel through King Jehu- who also destroys Baal from Israel; the Lord begins cutting off parts of Israel.
Elisha calls a son of the prophets and tells him to take a flask of oil to Ramoth-Gilead and look for Jehu, Jehoshaphat's son, and take him to an inner room and anoint him as king an leave immediately afterwards He sees Jehu among the other captains of the army and gives him the message, and he goes with him and does as Elisha said. He says he will strike down the house of Ahab his master so the Lord may avenge the deaths of his prophets who were killed by Ahab and Jezebel. Then, he leaves, and Jehu comes out to the servants of his master and they ask why Elisha came, and he says he was just babbling. They are not convinced, so he tells them the truth. Then, the men take their garments and put it under him and blow trumpets, so he conspires against Joram, who had been defending Ramoth-Gilead against Syria. King Joram had returned to cover from battle wounds, and Jehu says that no one should leave from the city to tell the news. Jehu goes to where he is, and Ahaziah king of Judah has come down to see him. A watchman sees the company of Jehu and tells the king, and Joram tells him to send a horseman to meet him to ask if they come in peace. Jehu answers him to turn around and follow him, and the watchman reports that the first horseman is not coming back. He sends a second one, and he tells him the same thing, and the watchman reports it and says it looks like Jehu, who drives furiously. So Joram makes his chariot ready, and he and Ahaziah go out in their chariots to meet Jehu. When Joram sees him, he asks if it is peace, and he says, "What peace? As long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many." Joram flees, and tells Ahaziah it is treachery. Jehu sends an arrow into Joram's heart, and he dies in his chariot. Jehu tells his servant to throw him into the field of Naboth (the man who Ahab killed to take his vineyard), since the Lord vowed to repay him because of the blood of Naboth and his sons. When Ahaziah sees, he flees, but Jehu commands he be shot, and then he dies, and his servants carry him in the chariot to Jerusalem and bury him there. In the 11th year of Joram, Ahaziah had become king over Judah. When Jehu comes to Jezreel, Jezebel hears, and she paints her eyes and adorns her head and looks through a window. As he enters through the gates, she asks him if it is peace and calls him murderer of her master. He looks up at the window and asks who is there and sees two or three eunuchs, and he commands she be thrown down, and they throw her down, and her blood splatters on the wall and the horses, and he tramples her underfoot. He goes in and eats and drinks, then tells them to bury the "accursed woman," but they only find her skull, feet, and the palms of her hands, so they tell him, and he says it is by the word of the Lord, that He had said through Elijah that dogs would eat her flesh and that her corpse would be as refuse on the plot of the field.
Ahab had 70 sons in Samaria, and Jehu writes and sends letters to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders and those who reared the sons, telling them to choose the best qualified of his sons and set him on the throne and fight for Ahab's house, but they are afraid. So they all send to Jehu saying they are his servants and will not make anyone king. He writes again and asks if they will obey his voice, to take his master's sons and come to Jezreel the next day. The king's sons are with the great men of the city who reared them, and they slaughter all 70 of them and put their heads in baskets and send them to him at Jezreel, and a messenger tells him. He tells them to lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning. In the morning, he tells all the people that he conspired against his master and killed him, but he asks who killed all these men. He says all will happen as the Lord spoke by Elijah by the house of Ahab. And he kills all of his house, friends, acquaintances, and priests, and then he goes to Samaria. On the way, he meets with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah. They say they have come to greet the sons of the king and the queen mother, and he takes them and kills them, 42 men. After that, he meets Jehonadab and greets him, asking if his heart is right and if so, to give him his hand, and he takes him into the chariot, and he says, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord." In Samaria, he kills all who remain of Ahab. Then, Jehu gathers the people and says that Ahab served Baal a little, but he "will serve him much," and he tells them to call all the prophets, servants, and priests of Baal because he has a great sacrifice for them, under penalty of death. He does this with the intent to kill them all. He proclaims an assembly for Baal, and they are all brought to him. They come into the temple, and it is full, and he commands clothing be brought for all the worshipers. Then Jehu and Johonadab say to them to make sure no servants of the Lord are with them. Jehu has 80 men on the outside, and he commands them not to let anyone to escape under penalty of death. After they make offerings, Jehu commands the guard and captains to kill them all. They burn the sacred pillars and tear down the temple, making it an everlasting refuse dump. So Jehu destroys Baal from Israel. However, it says that he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam who made Israel sin, from the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. The Lord tells him because he obeyed him concerning Ahab, his sons will sit on the throne to the fourth generation. However, it says he took no heed to walk in the laws of the Lord with all his heart. The Lord began to cut off parts of Israel in those days and Hazael conquered them. And Jehoahaz his son reigns in Jehu's place after he dies (he reigns 28 years.)
The story of Athaliah's reign s retold and of Jehoiada the priest who commands the people to keep the watch of the Lord and has her killed. And Joash is seven years old when he becomes king.
Thoughts/discussion questions:
In reading the Bible, it appears that God condones deception under specific circumstances (the means justifying the godly ends.) He sees to consider it shrewdness. Have you ever considered this?