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As Jehu marched toward the capital city of Samaria, he encountered 42 men from the house of David. Jehu took them alive, killed them at a pit at a place called Beth-eked, and then continued on toward Samaria.
This incident gives us pause. Jehu was anointed to be the avenger against the house of Ahab, the royal house of Israel. But these 42 men were members of a different royal house. Did Jehu overstep his bounds? Did Jehu get over-zealous with bloodlust?
Jehu was justified in slaughtering members of the royal house of Judah because the royal house of Judah and the royal house of Israel had become indistinguishable. Though generally faithful, Jehoshaphat of Judah permitted his son to marry a daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and as a result the house of David had become a branch on the family tree of Ahab, and when the tree of Ahab was chopped down, the branch of David fell with it.
There is a lesson in that. We frequently believe that we can get away with flirting with the world. We can spend our free time with fools and not become a fool. We can form a business partnership with dishonest men and maintain our reputation for honesty. We can fill our minds with pop culture insanity and still think straight.
This is foolish. As the Proverbs say, He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. And John warns that friendship with the world is enmity toward God. So, keep your distance. You may be a son of David, but if you marry into the house of Ahab, you will not escape when fire fall from heaven.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Sunday, February 05, 2006 at 08:07 AM
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