2 Kings 9:1-13 - Daily Devotion - 27 July 2026

St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park

1 Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt, take this flask of oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead. 2 When you arrive, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his companions, and take him to an inner room. 3 Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and declare, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run. Do not delay!”

4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead, 5 and when he arrived, the army commanders were sitting there. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said.

“For which of us?” asked Jehu.

“For you, commander,” he replied.

6 So Jehu got up and went into the house, where the young prophet poured the oil on his head and declared, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the LORD’s people Israel. 7 And you are to strike down the house of your master Ahab, so that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the LORD shed by the hand of Jezebel. 8 The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, both slave and free, in Israel. 9 I will make the house of Ahab like the houses of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. 10 And on the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour Jezebel, and there will be no one to bury her.’”

Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.

11 When Jehu went out to the servants of his master, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?”

“You know his kind and their babble,” he replied.

12 “That is a lie!” they said. “Tell us now!”

So Jehu answered, “He talked to me about this and that, and he said, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”

13 Quickly, each man took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. Then they blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”

REFLECTIONS

Written by Susan Duc

Have you tasted the bitterness of injustice? Have you seen too many evil-doers succeed in their schemes? These experiences may make us feel powerless, resentful and even vengeful.

In the final chapters of 1 Kings, we met King Ahab and Jezebel, his idolatrous and immoral queen. We saw how they abused their royal power – leading Israel in the worship of Baal, persecuting God’s prophets and even killing an innocent man to steal his land.

God had promised the prophet Elijah that he would end Ahab’s house (1 Kgs 19:15-17). At the end of 1 Kings, King Ahab and his son, Ahaziah, are killed. But there is still another son, Joram, and of course, Jezebel, who continue to rule in Israel.

So the anointing of Jehu as king in today’s passage is significant. God is keeping his promise to enact judgment on Ahab and Jezebel for their murder of God’s prophets and servants (v 7-8). Jehu has been appointed as the instrument of God’s work.

We are reminded that “the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to wipe out all memory of them from the earth” (Psalm 34:16). It means that even if we face of the gravest injustices, we can rejoice in the God who loves justice, and we can worship Him knowing He will one day make good his promise to restore justice to the whole earth. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan is one of our assistant ministers.