Jehu destroyed the House of Ahab according to God's word, but then Hosea condemned Jehu's house. Why?

[tonychanyt]

Jehu shot Joram, son of Ahab, King of Israel (2K 9:24). They killed Jezebel, wife of Ahab, at his command (2K 9:33). They killed the 70 sons of Ahah in different parts of Samaria to appease Jehu (2K 10:6) After that, God approved Jehu in 2 Kings 10:

30 The Lord said to Jehu, 'Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.'

About a century later, Hosea sang a different tune 1:

4 The LORD said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel."

How to reconcile 2K 10:30 and Hos 1:4?

Strong's Hebrew: 1818. דָּם (dam) — 360 Occurrences

the blood
דְּמֵ֤י (də·mê)
Noun - masculine plural construct

BDB:

f. plural דָּמִים of abundance, blood in quantity, hence sometimes of blood shed by rude violence, and of blood-stains;

New International Version:

The LORD said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel.

God approved Jehu destroying the house of Ahab but he did more at that time. He killed the bad king Ahaziah of Judah (2K 9:27), whose mother was Athaliah, a daughter of Ahab (2K 8:18). Further, he killed 42 of Ahaziah's relatives (2K 10:14), who happened to be around Jezreel.

Jehu executed the violence in Jezreel in 2K 9-10 according to the word of God, but then Hos 1:4 condemned his house. Why?

He destroyed the house of Ahab as God commanded, but God did not instruct him to kill Ahaziah's innocent relatives along the way. His violent bloodshed was excessive, as pointed out by Hosea.

2K 10:

31 Yet Jehu was not careful to follow the instruction of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.

God used sinful men to accomplish his purposes.

P.S. I made a substantial revision to this OP because of okay's comments below.

 

[okay]

Wasn’t Ahaziah of Judah part of the house of Ahab? They were certainly related! Ahaziah of Judah was the son of Joram of Judah. 2 Kings 8:18 says this about Joram of Judah

18: He walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, since the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did what was evil in the LORD’s sight. (NABRE)

There is some additional tension here, in that 2 Kings 8:26 might indicate Joram’s wife was the daughter of Omri, which would make her Ahab’s sister

26:Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, daughter of Omri, king of Israel.* (NABRE)

The footnotes for verse 26 in the NABRE say
“ It is unclear whether Athaliah was Omri’s daughter (v. 26) or his granddaughter (v. 18). Perhaps “daughter” here is being used loosely for “female descendant.” “

In either case, it sure seems like God’s approval in 2 Kings 10:30 should cover these killings as well.

 

[tonychanyt]

Thanks for sharing. I have edited the OP. Take another look. Thanks.

In either case, it sure seems like God’s approval in 2 Kings 10:30 should cover these killings as well.

What about the 42 relatives of Ahaziah? How were they part of the House of Ahab?

 

[okay]

What about the 42 relatives of Ahaziah? How were they part of the House of Ahab?

The text only lets us know that they were related to Ahab (through Ahaziah) - it doesn’t tell us how.

 

[okay]

I have edited the OP

I’m assuming this isn’t your intention, but when you make significant changes to the argument in an OP like that it causes this thread to make no sense anymore. My reply certainly makes me look pretty stupid now.

I still see significant tension between Kings and Hosea. Is there anything significant in your new OP that I haven’t addressed yet?

 

[tonychanyt]

I’m assuming this isn’t your intention, but when you make significant changes to the argument in an OP like that it causes this thread to make no sense anymore. My reply certainly makes me look pretty stupid now.

I've just added a PS on the OP to acknowledge your comments

I still see significant tension between Kings and Hosea.

I also see some. I assign weights to different propositions. That's how my brain works

Is there anything significant in your new OP that I haven’t addressed yet?

What about the 42 relatives of Ahaziah? How were they part of the House of Ahab?

 

[okay]

What about the 42 relatives of Ahaziah? How were they part of the House of Ahab?

My hunch is that we would need the expertise of OT scholars to weigh in - either directly or by finding their writings. At least their take would be more informed than mine.

An example that may or may not be helpful is again from the footnotes of the NABRE (just because it is easily available online at bible.usccb.org/bible). The verse in question is 2 Kings 10:13

13. Jehu came across relatives of Ahaziah, king of Judah. “Who are you?” he asked, and they said, “We are relatives of Ahaziah. We are going down to visit the princes and the family of the queen mother.”

The footnote says
“ [10:13] Since Athaliah, the queen mother in Judah, was of the Israelite royal house (8:18, 26), both the “princes” (lit., the “king’s sons”) and the queen mother’s “family” (lit., her “sons”) would belong to the royal houses of both kingdoms. They may thus be numbered among the seventy “sons of Ahab” killed in vv. 1–7. Because “sons” can refer to more remote offspring, the queen mother’s “sons” may include Ahaziah’s brothers, sons, nephews, as well as the “relatives” (lit., the “brothers”) of Ahaziah who are speaking in this scene. “

This footnote seems to be carefully worded so we don’t get the impression that they are certain. But according to this footnote the 42 relatives might be included as “sons” of Ahab.