2 Kings 10:16-20: a reflection

16He said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD.” So they made him ride in his chariot. 17When he came to Samaria, he struck all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed them, according to the LORD’s word which he spoke to Elijah. 18Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. 19Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all of his worshipers, and all of his priests. Let no one be absent, for I have a great sacrifice to Baal. Whoever is absent, he shall not live.” But Jehu did deceptively, intending to destroy the worshipers of Baal. 20Jehu said, “Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal!” So they proclaimed it.

When Jehu is riding to carry out God's judgment on the house of Ahab, he invites a companion to come and see my zeal for the LORD. And Jehu was indeed used by God to end Ahab's dynasty. But the passage, and the wider story, reveals that Jehu's zeal was deeply mixed. He acted with cruelty and excess, used deceit to gather the worshipers of Baal for slaughter, and pursued his own advancement in the process. His loud zeal for the LORD was tangled with self-interest, violence, and deceit, and later Scripture would hold him accountable for his bloodshed.

Notice the mixture in Jehu's zeal. He boasted of his zeal for the LORD, and there was some truth in it; he did carry out a judgment God had spoken. But it was not a pure zeal; it was tangled with cruelty, deceit, and self-interest, serving his own ambition even as he claimed to serve God. His zeal made a good show, come see my zeal for the LORD, but its motives and methods were far from clean.

That is a warning about the impurity that can hide within apparent zeal for God. It is possible to be zealous, even to accomplish things in God's name, while our zeal is tangled with self-interest, pride, cruelty, or a desire to be seen. Zeal for God can become a cover for serving ourselves. Examine the purity of your own zeal. When you are zealous for God, or for what you call his cause, ask what else is mixed in: ambition, pride, the desire to be seen, harshness toward others. Do not, like Jehu, parade a zeal that is really serving yourself. Ask God to purify your zeal, so that it truly serves him and not your own interests, and is marked by his character, not tangled with what dishonors him.

Lord, Jehu boasted, come see my zeal for the LORD, and though he carried out a judgment you had spoken, his zeal was tangled with cruelty, deceit, and self-interest, serving his own ambition even as he claimed to serve you. Guard me from such impure zeal. It is possible for me to be zealous, even to accomplish things in your name, while my zeal is mixed with self-interest, pride, harshness, or the desire to be seen. Zeal for you can become a cover for serving myself. Examine the purity of my own zeal. When I am zealous for you or your cause, show me what else is mixed in, and purify my motives. Do not let me parade a zeal that really serves myself. Make my zeal for you pure, truly serving you and not my own interests, and marked by your character, gentle and honest, not tangled with what dishonors you.