Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Sunday, December 2, 2012 Read – 2 Kings 9 & 10 The action moves once again to the North. The dynasty of which Ahab had been the most important king was coming to an end. God sends Elisha to anoint Jehu to become the next king. The ending of Joram’s reign is a pitiful scene. Even his own officers turn against him and “fall in behind” Jehu. In a bloody massacre Joram is killed and his bloody body is thrown out on the ground in Naaboth’s vineyard – a fitting ending to the dynasty of Ahab. Ahaziah, who was recently anointed king of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, is caught up in the battle and also killed. The alliance between North and South comes to a crashing end – it was not a noble alliance in the first place. The narrator has been waiting to tell us of the fate of Jezebel for several chapters. Now he tells us that she is cast down from a window – her blood spilling on the street and her body eaten by the dogs – just as had been prophesied about her. What a horrible story! It gets worse if we can believe that. Next, all of Ahab’s descendants are massacred – seventy sons of Ahab. Next, the priests of Baal meet their demise. Jehu is now fully in control and a new dynasty begins in the North. But Jehu’s own rule is not good. He certainly was a brutal character. As if to remind us of what is coming the narrator tells us that “in those days the Lord began to trim off parts of Israel.” Hazael makes his appearance winning battles around the Jordan. The beginning of the end is upon the Northern Kingdom. After a bloody reign of 28 years Jehu dies and his son Jehoahaz succeeds him.