And the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin. (vv.30-31)
Jehu, Israel’s king during a time of rampant idolatry, was determined to rid his nation of Baal worship. This hideous form of paganism involved gross sensualism, moral degradation, and human sacrifice. Because Jehu successfully rooted out all Baal worship from the land, God told him that his descendants would occupy Israel’s throne for four generations (v.30).
But God was not fully pleased with Jehu, for he still permitted the idolatrous worship of the golden calves in Bethel and Dan (v.29) and did not keep the law of the LORD with all his heart (v.31). He started well but was finishing poorly by holding on to a sin he wouldn’t let go.
Charles Spurgeon described Jehu's actions in these words, “Hating one sin he loved another, and thus proved that the fear of the Most High did not reign in his heart. He was merely a hired servant, and received the throne as his wages, but a child of God he never was.”
Many people today are in the same boat, holding on to a sin they just won’t let go. Better to come clean and give your whole heart to the LORD than hold on to something that will bring harm to you and others through God’s judgment.
The Truth: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
