Friday, September 29: “Slaying Friends”
2 Kings 9: 27a: “When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, ‘Shoot him too, in the chariot.’ So they shot him at the ascent of Gur.”
The problem with bloodlust against enemies is that, once stirred up, it’s difficult to control. Elisha never told Jehu to kill King Ahaziah, or anyone else from Judah. He was only supposed to fulfill the word of Elijah against the house of Ahab, but he went way overboard. In the end Jehu turned out just as bad as his enemies (10: 31). That’s where the path of revenge always leads.
