God rules, and earthly leaders, both good and bad, are still in the hands of the Almighty as he directs the affairs of this world to a conclusion that he has foreordained. Not even Satan in all his ugly designs fails to perform God’s holy purposes. Hang on to that in these evil days: God rules!
Going Deep // Focus: 2 Kings 9:6-8
Then the young prophet poured the oil over Jehu’s head and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anoint you king over the Lord’s people, Israel. You are to destroy the family of Ahab, your master. In this way, I will avenge the murder of my prophets and all the Lord’s servants who were killed by Jezebel. The entire family of Ahab must be wiped out.
Sometimes God choses a blunt instrument to carry out his justice. Jehu was just that; he was God’s hammer. He was not a nice man; in fact, he was brutal. He had a tornadic reputation: “The watchman exclaimed, ‘The messenger has met them, but he isn’t returning either! It must be Jehu son of Nimshi, for he’s driving like a madman.’” (2 Kings 9:20). Everybody seemed to know how Jehu was wired. As a commander in the king of Israel’s army, he was a fast-moving tornado looking for a flimsy house.
And God has ordained that tornado to hit the household of King Ahab. Now Ahab was already dead, but he had been wicked beyond the pale, and his surviving wife, Queen Jezebel, was even worse. Furthermore, the children this unholy duo had spawned were evil to the core as well. And after multiple warnings through multiple prophets—Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah (1 Kings 22:9) and others, God’s patience had finally run out. There was going to be a payday for the sins of the household of Ahab, and that payday would come through Jehu.
Once Jehu was turned loose, two kings (King Ahaziah of Judah was in the wrong place at the wrong time and paid for it with his life—1 Kings 9:27-29), one queen, and a whole bunch of priests were slaughtered. Truly, Jehu the Tornado left widespread devastation. He was God’s blunt instrument of justice.
Have you ever considered that in our day some of the ungodly people that get elevated to public leadership may just be God’s kingdom instruments as well? Have you mourned over the election loss of a good person when such a blatantly bad candidate got the job? I have. But while our temporal desires and short-sighted wishes may not have materialized, God is still on the throne. And he is still directing traffic from his eternal perch here on Planet Earth. And the president, or governor, or mayor do not get elevated to office without the permission of God. Yes, even the bad ones. Daniel spoke of this when he and his Hebrew buddies were facing intense pressure because of the demands of a brutal, evil Babylonian king by the name of Nebuchadnezzar:
Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. (Daniel 2:2-21)
Even Jesus, looking down the barrel of a Roman crucifixion, told Pontius Pilate, who thought he held Jesus’ fate in his hands,
You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above. (John 19:11)
Keep that in mind the next time you are depressed over the election of a blunt instrument. It may just be God’s way of bringing his will to bear upon a world that has drifted far from his ways. I know it doesn’t sound too hopeful, and it may sound like I am being fatalistic about elections—I am not. What I am simply saying is that no matter what, God rules.
Yes, God rules, and leaders good or bad are still instruments in his hands as he directs the affairs of this world to a conclusion that he has foreordained.
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