2 Kings 10:30

And the Lord said unto Jehu,.... By a prophet, he not being one himself; and this is generally supposed, by the Jews (w), to be Jonah the son of Amittai: because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes: in rooting out the idolatry of Baal, which was right in the sight of God, and was materially a good work, though it might not be done from a good principle, nor every step taken in doing it justifiable: and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart: that he had decreed within himself should be done, and had foretold by his prophets would be done, the doing of which was acceptable and well pleasing to him: thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel; as they did, namely, Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam, and Zachariah, though the last reigned but six months, just enough to fulfil this promise. (w) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 19.

10:29-36 It is justly questionable whether Jehu acted from a good principle, and whether he did not take some false steps in doing it; yet no services done for God shall go unrewarded. But true conversion is not only from gross sin, but from all sin; not only from false gods, but from false worships. True conversion is not only from wasteful sins, but from gainful sins; not only from sins which hurt our worldly interests, but from those that support and befriend them; in forsaking which is the great trial whether we can deny ourselves and trust God. Jehu showed great care and zeal for rooting out a false religion, but in the true religion he cared not, took no heed to please God and do his duty. Those that are heedless, it is to be feared, are graceless. The people were also careless, therefore it is not strange that in those days the Lord began to cut Israel short. They were short in their duty to God, therefore God cut them short in their extent, wealth, and power.

2 Kings 10:30 . The Lord said unto Jehu — By some prophet. Because thou hast done well, &c. — That is, in part. The extirpating of idolaters and idolatry was a thing so far right in God’s eyes, idolatry being an iniquity which he visits as surely and severely as any other, and which is a source of a variety of other abominations. Thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne — Which they did, namely, Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam, and Zachariah. This was more than took place in any of the other royal families of that kingdom. Of the house of Ahab, indeed, there were four kings, but the last two, namely, Ahaziah and Joram, were brothers, so that its reign reached only to the third generation, and that whole family continued but about forty-five years in all: whereas Jehu’s house continued in power for four generations after himself, and in all about a hundred and twenty years: for no services done for God shall go unrewarded.

And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy {l} children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. (l) Thus God approves and rewards his zeal, in executing God's judgment, though his wickedness was later punished.

The Lord said unto Jehu; by some prophet, as above, 2 Kings 9:7 . Executing that which is right in mine eyes, i.e. in part, and so far as is here expressed, these actions were good and right, though his heart was not so. Thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel; and so they did; namely, Jehoahaz, below, 2 Kings 10:35 ; Joash, 2 Kings 13:10 Jeroboam, 2 Kings 14:24 ; and Zachariah, 2 Kings 5:8 .

Shallum the son of Jabesh; one of his chief captains. Before the people openly and impudently; which he presumed to do, either because he remembered that the promise of the kingdom made to Jehu was confined to the fourth generation, 2 Kings 10:30 , which he observed to be now expired; or because he perceived that the people were generally disaffected to their king, and favourable to his attempt.

And the Lord said unto Jehu - Probably by the mouth of Elisha. To a certain extent Jehu's measures were acts of obedience, for which God might see fit to assign him a temporal reward. Thy children ... - This was accomplished in the persons of Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam, and Zachariah, the son, grandson, great-grandson, and great-great-grandson of Jehu (compare the marginal references). No other family sat upon the throne of Israel so long. The house of Omri, which furnished four kings, held the crown for three generations only and for less than 50 years - that of Jehu reigned for five generations and for more than 100 years.

(30) And the Lord said. —Perhaps through Elisha. And hast done.—So the Syriac and Arabic versions. The Hebrew wants the and. Thy children of the fourth generation.—The fulfilment of this oracle is noticed in 2Kings 15:12. (Comp. the words of the commandment, “visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation;” Exodus 20:5.)

29. Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam … Jehu departed not from after them—Jehu had no intention of carrying his zeal for the Lord beyond a certain point, and as he considered it impolitic to encourage his subjects to travel to Jerusalem, he re-established the symbolic worship of the calves.

30 . Because thou hast done well ] i.e. To a certain extent. When David strives to do God’s will perfectly with a true heart, the promise is that ‘he shall not be without a lamp before God for ever’. The partial obedience of Jehu obtains the gift of a succession for four generations. thy children [R.V. sons ] of the fourth generation] For the fulfilment see chap. 2 Kings 15:12 . The son of Jehu was Jehoahaz who was succeeded by his son Joash, and he by Jeroboam II, with whose son Zechariah the fourth generation and the sovereignty of Jehu’s family terminated.

Verse 30. - And the Lord said unto John - scarcely by direct revelation, rather by the mouth of a prophet, most probably of Elisha, as Thenius supposes - Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes. In making himself the executor of God's will with respect to the house of Ahab, and utterly destroying it, as he had been commanded ( 2 Kings 9:7 ), Jehu had "done well;" he had also done well in putting down the worship of Baal, and slaying the idolaters, for the destruction of idolaters was distinctly commanded in the Law ( Exodus 22:20 ; Exodus 32:27 ; Numbers 25:5 ). These acts of his are praised; but nothing is said of his motives in doing them. They were probably to a great extent selfish. And hath done unto the house of Ahab all that was in mine heart (see 2 Kings 9:26-37 ; 2 Kings 10:1-7, 11, 14 ), thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. External obedience was suitably rewarded by an external, earthly honor - the honor of having his dynasty settled upon the throne during five generations, and for a period of above a hundred years. No other Israelite dynasty held the throne longer than three generations, or for so much as fifty years. The "children" or descendants of Jehu who sat upon the throne after him were Jehoahaz, his son, Jehoash or Joash, his grandson, Jeroboam II., his great-grandson, and Zachariah, son of Jeroboam II., his great-great-grandson 2 Kings 10:30

Jehu is promised the possession of the throne to the fourth generation of his sons for having exterminated the godless royal house of Ahab (vid., 2 Kings 15:12 ). The divine sentence, "because thou hast acted well to do right in mine eyes. (because thou) hast done as it was in my heart to the house of Ahab," refers to the deed as such, and not to the subjective motives by which Jehu had been actuated. For it is obvious that it had not sprung from pure zeal for the honour of the Lord, from the limitation added in 2 Kings 10:31 : "but Jehu did not take heed to walk in the law of Jehovah with all his heart, and did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam."