Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 252
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IMMERSE
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KINGDOMS
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| 9:33–10:11
side?” And two or three eunuchs looked out at him. “Throw her down!”
Jehu yelled. So they threw her out the window, and her blood spattered
against the wall and on the horses. And Jehu trampled her body under his
horses’ hooves.
Then Jehu went into the palace and ate and drank. Afterward he said,
“Someone go and bury this cursed woman, for she is the daughter of a
king.” But when they went out to bury her, they found only her skull, her
feet, and her hands.
When they returned and told Jehu, he stated, “This fulfills the message
from the Lord, which he spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe:
‘At the plot of land in Jezreel, dogs will eat Jezebel’s body. Her remains will
be scattered like dung on the plot of land in Jezreel, so that no one will be
able to recognize her.’”
Ahab had seventy sons living in the city of Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters
and sent them to Samaria, to the elders and officials of the city, and to the
guardians of King Ahab’s sons. He said, “The king’s sons are with you, and
you have at your disposal chario ts, horses, a fortified city, and weapons.
As soon as you receive this letter, select the best qualified of your master’s
sons to be your king, and prepare to fight for Ahab’s dynasty.”
But they were paralyzed with fear and said, “We’ve seen that two kings
couldn’t stand against this man! What can we do?”
So the palace and city administrators, together with the elders and the
guardians of the king’s sons, sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants and will do anything you tell us. We will not make anyone king; do
whatever you think is best.”
Jehu responded with a second letter: “If you are on my side and are
going to obey me, bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel by
this time tomorrow.” Now the seventy sons of the king were being cared
for by the leaders of Samaria, where they had been raised since childhood.
When the letter arrived, the leaders killed all seventy of the king’s sons.
They placed their heads in baskets and presented them to Jehu at Jezreel.
A messenger went to Jehu and said, “They have brought the heads of
the king’s sons.”
So Jehu ordered, “Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate,
and leave them there until morning.”
In the morning he went out and spoke to the crowd that had gathered
around them. “You are not to blame,” he told them. “I am the one who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these? You can
be sure that the message of the Lord that was spoken concerning Ahab’s
family will not fail. The Lord declared through his servant Elijah that
this would happen.” Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s relatives