2 Kings 9:23-29: a reflection

23Joram turned his hands and fled, and said to Ahaziah, “This is treason, Ahaziah!” 24Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. 25Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 26‘Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons,’ says the LORD; ‘and I will repay you in this plot of ground,’ says the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the LORD’s word.” 27But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, “Strike him also in the chariot!” They struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there. 28His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in David’s city. 29In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.

As Jehu executes God's judgment on the house of Ahab, he recalls something from years before. When he strikes down Joram, he orders the body cast onto the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth, and remembers the word God had spoken: Surely I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, and I will repay you in this plot of ground. Naboth had been murdered long before, his land seized by Ahab; and now, years later, the blood of Naboth is answered, on the very ground where the wrong was done. God had not forgotten the old injustice.

Notice that God remembered and answered an old, hidden wrong. Naboth's murder had happened long before; the wrong might have seemed forgotten, lost in the past, unanswered. But God had seen it, remembered it, and in his own time answered it, on the very ground where it was done. The injustice done to Naboth, however long past, was not forgotten by God; he saw the blood shed, and in time repaid it. God does not forget injustice, however old or hidden; he remembers, and answers it in his time. The old wrong was not lost to him.

That is worth taking to heart, for God remembers and answers injustice, however long past or hidden. We can feel that old injustices, wrongs done and seemingly forgotten, go unanswered forever, that the passage of time erases them; but God remembered Naboth's murder years later and answered it. God does not forget the wrongs done, the injustices, the shedding of innocent blood, however long past; he sees them, remembers them, and answers them in his time. If you have suffered an old wrong that seems forgotten and unanswered, do not think God has forgotten it; he remembers injustice, however long past, and will answer it in his time, as he remembered and answered Naboth's blood years later. Trust the God who does not forget injustice, but remembers and answers it in his own time, however long the wrong may seem to have gone unanswered.

Lord, as Jehu executes your judgment on the house of Ahab, he recalls something from years before. When he strikes down Joram, he orders the body cast onto the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth, and remembers the word you had spoken: surely I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, and I will repay you in this plot of ground. Naboth had been murdered long before, his land seized; and now, years later, the blood of Naboth is answered, on the very ground where the wrong was done. You had not forgotten the old injustice. Show me that you remembered and answered an old, hidden wrong. Naboth's murder had happened long before; the wrong might have seemed forgotten, unanswered. But you had seen it, remembered it, and in your own time answered it. The injustice done to Naboth, however long past, was not forgotten by you; you saw the blood shed, and in time repaid it. You do not forget injustice, however old; you remember, and answer it in your time. Take that to my heart, for you remember and answer injustice, however long past or hidden. I can feel that old injustices, wrongs done and seemingly forgotten, go unanswered forever; but you remembered Naboth's murder years later. You do not forget the wrongs done, however long past. If I have suffered an old wrong that seems forgotten and unanswered, keep me from thinking you have forgotten it; you remember injustice and will answer it in your time, Lord. Help me trust the God who does not forget injustice, but remembers and answers it in his own time.