Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 10
Until this time, the priests of the false god Baal had strongly supported the family of Ahab. Ahab brought that religion into Israel and he built a great temple for it in Samaria, his capital city (1 Kings 16:31-32). That temple was the most important building for that religion. In it stood the sacred stone, which was an image of the false god Baal.
Joram, Ahab’s son, did not follow that religion and he removed the sacred stone (3:2). However, Jezebel, Joram’s mother, continued to support that religion through his whole rule. So, the religion of Baal remained strong (9:22).
The new king, Jehu, had killed Joram, Jezebel and the whole family of Ahab. However, it remained unclear what he would do about the religion of Baal. It was still a very popular religion – and its priests worked across the whole country that Jehu ruled.
So, the priests of Baal’s religion believed Jehu’s public declaration that he would follow that religion. He gave orders that seemed to show support for it. He organised a great ceremony where he, as king, would offer a sacrifice (the gift of animals) to Baal. He insisted that every priest and other leader in that religion must be present at the temple on that occasion. He even ordered the return of the sacred stone to the temple of Baal. The priests and leaders of Baal’s religion would be very eager to see the return of that image.
On that special day, they all came from across Israel. They believed that Jehu would make their religion even more powerful. However, in fact, Jehu had a very different plan.
Next part: The terrible way that Jehu destroyed the religion of Baal (2 Kings 10:22-25)
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© 2025, Keith Simons.