Michael Heiser — Explaining the Troubling Period of Jehu's Dynasty (2 Kings 10 and Hosea 1)

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The video addresses a theological dilemma regarding King Jehu's violent actions as described in 2 Kings 10 and Hosea, specifically whether God commanded genocide only to later condemn it as murder. The speaker clarifies that the term "genocide" is misapplied here because the targeting was based on religious idolatry rather than ethnicity; furthermore, vengeance belongs solely to God, who decides when and how evil acts are punished. While Jehu fully carried out his divine commission to destroy the house of Ahab and eliminate Baal worshipers in Samaria, receiving a promise that his lineage would sit on Israel's throne for four generations, this obedience was not without spiritual cost. The speaker emphasizes that believers should avoid judging God's methods or timing regarding such severe judgments against profound evil. However, the prophet Hosea condemns Jehu's dynasty precisely because of the impure motives behind these actions and their subsequent failure to repent from other sins. Although Jehu executed what was right in executing Ahab's line, he did so with a carnal zeal tainted by self-interest rather than sincere concern for faith purity, and crucially, he never departed from the golden calves established by Jeroboam I at Bethel and Dan. The condemnation extends to his descendants as well; Jehoahaz, Jehoash, and even the successful King Jeroboam II all continued to follow the sins of Jeroboam despite military victories or long reigns. Thus, the judgment against Jehu's line was not for obeying God in 2 Kings 10, but for persistently adhering to the idolatrous practices that defined Israel's history under Jeroboam. The video concludes by illustrating a profound biblical principle: when blood is shed even in obedience to God's command, guilt attaches to the agent if their motives are tainted or if they fail to turn away from other sins. This concept mirrors Elijah on Mount Carmel, who killed Baal prophets with pure intent yet still bore responsibility for taking life, whereas Jehu and his successors failed because they did not leave behind the idolatry of Jeroboam. Ultimately, the dynasty was visited with judgment when Zechariah, a descendant of Jehu, was murdered by his own captain years later, fulfilling Hosea's prophecy that their blood would be shed on them for following in the sins of Jeroboam rather than for their initial obedience to God. To properly understand such complex passages and avoid misinterpretations based solely on podcasts or surface-level reading, the speaker strongly advises investing in comprehensive reference tools like Gleason Archer's *New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties*. He lists several other essential resources including David O'Brien's handbook, Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe's work for critics, Walt Kaiser's collection known as *Hard Sayings of the Bible*, and Murray Harris's guide on navigating tough texts. These volumes provide detailed explanations that allow listeners to investigate difficult questions thoroughly without relying entirely on secondary opinions or simplified summaries found in audio formats alone.

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[Music] Our first question question is from Peter. I've been bothered by the 2 Kings 10 and Hosea 1:es 4-5 subject matter. It would seem by these passages that God ordered King Ju to commit genocide only to condemn the commanded action as murder. Is there an apparent solution to this dilemma? Well, yeah, there is. Uh, first of all, I would say that targeting Baal worshippers among your countrymen is not genocide. So, that's a misuse of that term. Genocide is extermination based on ethnicity. Clearly, that is not the motivation here, you know. And more broadly, God decides when to punish the heinous crimes of Ahab and Jezebel and the rest of the Baal worshiping Lot with them, which was substantial. That's God's choice. He gets to decide when and how evil, especially this ultra low sort of evil gets, you know, gets punished. So, it's his prerogative. We don't tell God how to do his, you know, his job. If if anything, we we avoid taking vengeance, you know, to ourselves. It's the old vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. And so when God does that, it's a little it's basically wrongheaded for us to sit in judgment on God as to how God decides to do things when, you know, their interaction with the prophets, you know, shows that they could have they could have repented. They could have, you know, stopped worshiping Baal. They could have done all those things, but they don't. As far as the bigger or the or the more specific question, I'm going to read uh an extended portion here from Gleon Archer's book. It's a reference book. And I I'm only doing this because I want to make the point to to listeners that if if you're going to be serious about Bible study, you must start investing in tools. You can't depend on a podcast. You can't depend on Mike uh to answer these questions. There are lots of tools out there that specifically address questions like this. They're they're compendium volumes of these sorts of things. So this one is Gleon Archer, the New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties published by Zanderbin and this goes back to 1982. And at the end of this I'll mention a few more, but you need to start investing in tools that that's why they're published. That's why they're put out there. these reference works that can really help you. So Archer or whoever did the article writes, "There can be no question that Ju fully carried out the commission he received from the Lord. You shall strike the house of Ahab your master that I may avenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord at the hand of Jezebel, for the whole house of Ahab shall perish" unquote. That's 2 Kings 9:7-8. It's very clearly has nothing to do with genocide. After Jahu racing back from the whole from from remote Gilead to Jezrael, he shot King Jehoram dead and Aziah of Judah as well, for he was the grandson of Jezebel. He then proceeded to the city of Samaria and intimidated the elders of that city into decapitating all 70 of Ahab's sons who were living in the palace. 2 Kings 10 1-10. Not long after that, he managed to lure all the Baal worshiping leaders of Israel into the temple of Baal on the pretext of leading them in a great celebration of worship there. Once they were locked up inside the temple itself, he had them all massacred by his troops and destroyed the entire building, desecrating it in such a way that it could never be used for worship again. It's verses 18- 27. It was after Jah who had carried out all these stern measures for the suppression of idolatry in Israel that the commenation came to him from the Lord. Quote, "Because you have done well in executing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel." 2 Kings 10:30. But 2 kings 10:33 indicates that even before that invasion by Assyria in the 21st year of Shamanzer, which would have been about 8:32 BC, Jahu had lost all Trans Jordan, Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben, which later had for the most part been conquered by Moab under King Misha to King Hazahel of Damascus. His son Jehoahaz was reduced to complete vasselage by he hazel and his son Benhad had. But Jeho Jehoash was allowed by the Lord to expel the Syrians in three decisive engagements and also to crush the pretensions of King Amziah of Judah in the battle of Bshamesh with a result in spoilation of is of Jerusalem itself. But it was Ju's greatgrandson Jeroboam II who achieved very great success on the battlefield. For he regained possession of the Trans Jordan tribal territory in all the area formerly ruled over by Jeroboam I just as the prophet Jonah had predicted. On what basis then did the prophet Hosea proclaim the judgment of the Lord on the dynasty of Jahu in Hosea 1:4-5? It was because of the impure motive with which Jahu himself had carried out his commission from Yahweh to blot out the line of Ahab. Although Jahu had only done what God had commanded, he did so out of a carnal zeal that was tainted with protective self-interest. 2 Kings 10:29 says of him, quote, "However, as for the sins of Jerobom, the son of Nebot, by which he made Israel sin, from these Ju did not depart, even the golden calves that were of at Bethl and Dan" unquote. Let me just stop there. For you to conclude that that God is judging Jahu for the same thing that he commanded him to do, which he did, would be to would be to interpret that verse or those verses as only including what happened there with Jahu in that one instance. Whereas the statement is much broader as for the sins of Jeroboam and the son of Nebot which he made Israel to sin from these Jahu did not depart. Jahoo's clearly got bigger problems. He's got other spiritual defects other than carrying out this command um you know from back in 2 Kings 10. So that's why he's condemned. He's not condemned for the second kings 10 incident or the material what he was obedient there. He's comm he's condemned for the places he's not obedient follows in the way of Jeroboam. You know the first uh back to the paragraph. This same mixture of motives showed up in the in Jahu's descendants as well. For Jehoahaz quote did evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jerobom unquote. Jehoash Jehoash's son or Jehoahaz's son did not do much better for he followed his father's evil example. 2 Kings 13:11. Even though he did retain a respectful relationship with the prophet Elisha, 2 Kings 13:14-19, and even though Jeroboam II enjoyed such remarkable success in war and had a long reign of 41 years, in other words, from 793 to 782 as viceroy under his father in 782 to 753 BC as sole king. Yeah, his relationship toward the Lord was no better than his fathers. Quote, "He did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jerobom, the son of Nebot, with which he made Israel sin." That's verse 24. So, the reason that they're condemned is because they don't depart from the sins of Jerobom, not because he got rid of Ahab. Again, it seems pretty clear on this end. The important principle set forth in Hosea 1:4 was that when blood is shed, even in the service of God and in obedience to his command, blood guiltiness attaches to God's agent himself, if his motive is tainted with carnal self-interest rather than by a sincere concern for the purity of the faith and the preservation of God's truth, such as, for example, animated Elijah when he had 450 prophets of Baal put to death after the contest with them on Mount Carmel. The bloodshed of Jezrael was finally visit visited on the house of Jahu with his great great grandson Zechariah being murdered at his own birthday party by his trusted chariot Captain Shalom in 2 Kings 15:10. So again, what they're condemned for is following in the sins of Jerobal, not for obeying God. back in 2 Kings 10. Other resources besides archer, again, you must invest in tools, uh, you shouldn't be dependent on on asking, uh, other people questions like this when they're they're fully fully answerable by reference works here. Other than this one, this was this was Glee and Archer. I'll repeat the title. Glee and Archer, New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. Here are here are a few others. Here's David O'Brien, Today's Handbook for Solving Bible Difficulties. Here's a book by Norman Elg Geistler and Thomas How when Critics Ask, a popular handbook on Bible Difficulties. Walt Kaiser and a few other authors. It's really by now there were several books, but they've been collected into one volume. Hard sayings of the Bible, that's by Intervarity Press. and Murray Harris has one called Navigating Tough Texts, a guide to problem passages in the New Testament. So there you have five reference works that are all worth getting for questions like these.