Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 9
Jehu was trying to gain power over northern and central Israel. It seems that he had no desire to rule Judah. However, he had reasons why he wanted to kill Ahaziah, the king of Judah.
Firstly, Ahaziah was the grandson of King Ahab. God had appointed Jehu to carry out God’s judgment against the whole of Ahab’s family (9:6-9).
Secondly, if Ahaziah did not die, many people in northern and central Israel would want him to be their king. They would support him because he belonged to Ahab’s family. If they could unite the whole of Israel and Judah under King Ahaziah, it would be a very strong nation. However to do that, they first had to kill Jehu. So Jehu could not permit them to succeed.
So, after Jehu had killed Joram, he chased after Ahaziah. Ahaziah escaped in the direction of a place called Beth Haggan, which means the garden house. They were in the gardens of the palace at Jezreel, so that may have been one of the buildings there.
Ahaziah managed to go as far as Ibleam, 8 miles (12 kilometres) south of Jezreel. There, Jehu’s soldiers managed to attack him. He suffered an injury – but Ahaziah was a strong young man, 23 years old, and he managed to escape. Ahaziah was trying to go further south, to Judah, where he would be safe. He reached Samaria, another 12 miles (20 kilometres) south, where he hid (2 Chronicles 22:9). There, Jehu’s soldiers caught him, probably a few days later. It seems that they brought him back to Megiddo, 20 miles (30 kilometres) north of Samaria, and 8 miles (12 kilometres) west of Jezreel. There, Jehu gave his men an order to kill Ahaziah. So that was where, in the end, he died.
Next part: Ahaziah's honourable funeral (2 Kings 9:28-29)
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