Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 9
The message from God that the young man brought, was not a public message. Although it affected the lives of many people – in fact, the whole nation – the message was a private message. God wanted to tell Jehu that he, God, had chosen him to be king of northern and central Israel. It was the young man’s task to carry out the sacred ceremony that appointed Jehu. The young man needed to carry out that ceremony at once, and in private.
The young man found Jehu in a meeting with the rest of Israel’s army commanders. He simply said that he had brought a message for Jehu. It would not be unusual for a young man to arrive with a message. Jehu may have thought that the message was from the king, or from the leaders of a particular town. The young man did not say that his message was from God.
Jehu took the man into a private room to hear his secret message. He seemed not to suspect what that message was. However, one of the other army commanders realised that there was something strange about that message (9:11-12). He had several reasons to suspect the young man. Firstly, the young man was not one of the usual men who carried important messages. The army commanders expected to recognise the runners who did this work (2 Samuel 18:27). Secondly, the young man wore the rough clothes that people loyal to Israel’s God commonly wore. That caused the other commander to describe him as a ‘mad man’. Lastly, the young man was carrying a quantity of oil, which an army runner would never do. That oil could only be for one purpose: to carry out the ceremony to appoint a new king.
Next part: Jehu becomes king (2 Kings 9:6)
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