“The Lord said to Jehu, “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.” But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.” (2 Kings 10:30–31, NASB95)
Many people do not know the name, Jehu. Jehu was king in Israel and was used of God to do some disturbing and amazing things. Years prior, God had told King Ahab that his sins would cause his family to be decimated and he would no longer have a male descendant to be on the throne after him. Ahab had repented and God said He would relent until the life of Ahab’s son. Jehu carried out that punishment.
Jehu went even further in carrying out God’s plans for revival of true worship by destroying idols, tearing down shrines to other gods, and killing those who were leading Israel to worship other gods. He went throughout the land leading a revival. He even got a young man to go with him to witness the purifying of religion in Israel. In 2 Kings 10:30-31, God told Jehu that he had done well in executing the justice and judgment of God on Ahab and in leading the people to do right in their worship and individual lives.
With all the good and big things Jehu did for God, 2 Kings 10:31 tells us that he was not careful to walk in the Law of the Lord, the God if Israel, “with all his heart.” In other words, while he had been faithful in the public, external, or “big” things, he was not careful to let that be translated into devotion with his heart. He had failed to follow God in his own personal devotion to God and in the consistency of his walk with God. How could this be?
When Solomon died, Rehoboam became king of Israel. When he failed to use wisdom, and in accordance with God’s warning to Solomon, the kingdom split in two with ten tribes following Jeroboam and retaining the name of Israel. The remaining two tribes remained loyal to the house of David and became Judah. Jerusalem was in Judah. That would mean for those who had sided with Jeroboam, they would have to travel to Jerusalem to worship to obey the Law. Jeroboam did not want this to happen probably from fear of losing control of them or a desire on the side of the people to reunify after a while, so he had two golden calves built and placed them in the cities of Bethel and Dan. He told Israel that these idols were the god that had delivered them from Egypt and insisted they worship the idols instead of going to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple where God had told them to go.
As good as Jehu had done on the bigger, more public issues, he had allowed this to continue and was inconsistent in the reforms he had instituted. God’s evaluation is in 2 Kings 10:31. He had done great in the bigger things, but not in his heart or the things of personal devotion.
If we are not careful, we will be tempted follow the same pattern. We will do well in the larger, public issues like teaching our Sunday School classes, singing in the choir, or serving as a deacon and miss out on consistency in our private devotion to God. We do not have to be hypocrites for this to settle into our lives. Sometimes, it is just a matter of losing focus and beginning to be drawn into habits or patterns of behavior that are less consistent than the full devotion God deserves from us.
What “gods” have crept into your heart, your home, your habits, your health, or other areas that are not as consistent as your church attendance, giving, or service? Let’s pray God will work in us to make us complete and filled up with Him and His Holy Spirit.