2 Kings 10:31 - Exposition

But Jehu took no heed to walk in the Law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart. Jehu's character is thus summed up by Dean Stanley: "The character of Jehu is not difficult to understand, if we take it as a whole, and consider the general impression left upon us by the biblical account. He is exactly one of those men whom we are compelled to recognize, not for what is good or great in themselves, but as instruments for destroying evil, and preparing the way for good; such as Augustus Caesar at Rome, Sultan Mahmoud II . in Turkey, or one closer at hand in the revolutions of our own time and neighborhood. A destiny, long kept in view by himself or ethers—inscrutable secrecy and reserve in carrying out his plans—a union of cold, remorseless tenacity with occasional bursts of furious, wayward, almost fanatical zeal;—this is Jehu, as he is set before us in the historical narrative, the worst type of a son of Jacob—the 'supplanter' …without the noble and princely qualities of Israel; the most unlovely and the most coldly commended of all the heroes of his country". The estimate is lower than that formed by most other writers; but it is not far from the truth. For he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin .