And then I would have you open your Bibles to the book of Kings, 2 Kings, chapter 8, where we continue to look at the ministry of Elisha, the prophet to Israel. 2 Kings chapter 8. Now, the narrator of this book has been focusing on what has been happening in Israel. We've spent a lot of time in Israel with Elisha. But in the second half of chapter 8, he suddenly turns our attention to what's happening in Judah, to the south. It's as if he's saying, in case you hadn't noticed, there's things happening in Judah that you must be aware of. The house of Ahab in Israel to the north had not only infiltrated Judah in the south, but had actually taken control. You see, while Ahab's son, Joram, was the king in Israel in the north, his daughter, Athaliah, became queen in Judah when her husband became the king. And under her influence, Jehoram, the king of Judah, did not walk in the way of David, did not walk as a man after God's own heart, but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done. And when the Lord took his life in judgment, his son, their youngest son, Ahaziah, became king. And he too walked in the ways of the house of Ahab. And according to 2 Chronicles, he did so not only because his mother encouraged him to do so, the daughter of Ahab you remember but also because the house of Ahab the court of Ahab had become his counselors his advisors Judah had become a puppet state doing the will of the house of Ahab and following their advice Ahaziah allied Judah with Israel to go to war with Hazael the king of Aram as we saw last time Hazael was anointed king of Aram by God's will in order to wage war against Israel. And his first attack was against a border town by the name of Ramoth-Gilead. And his attack there initiated a series of events that fell like so many dominoes in a row that were set in motion by the finger of God. His troops wounded Joram, the king of Israel. And Joram ran home to Mama in Jezreel. And then Ahaziah, king of Judah, came to visit him later. and so the second half of chapter 8 takes us up to the threshold of the majority of what we're going to consider today these two puppet kings were gathered together with their puppet master Jezebel in the city of Jezreel and the stage was set for the events of chapters 9 and 10 in which the Lord cleans house in Israel now our text for this morning you'll notice in your bulletin is verses 6 and 7 of chapter 9 And I want to start with those. Verses 6 and 7 of chapter 9. There we read that the prophet sent to Jehu a very concise summary of what we're about to read. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I anoint you king over the Lord's people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab, your master. And I will avenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the Lord's servants shed by Jezebel. And in this summary, we see that when the Lord cleans house, he does so by anointing his chosen king for the purpose of accomplishing his revealed will and for avenging his martyred saints. I am going to read to you both chapters 9 and 10. I'm going to test your flesh this morning. I tried every way I could to shorten this down, but this is a story that was written to be told. This is a story that was written to be heard. And so I want you to buckle your seatbelts and focus your attention on the Word of God as we get this technicolor, slow-motion panorama of how God cleans house in Israel. And as we listen to this, Of course, we're going to be focused on the details of the past. But we should also have in mind that this is a picture of the future. A picture of the final judgment that is yet to come against all those who rebel against the Lord our God. So follow along, if you would, as I read to you from the Word of God, 2 Kings, beginning in chapter 9, verse 1. The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth-Gilead. When you get there, look for Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, This is what the Lord says, I anoint you king over Israel. Then open the door and run. Don't delay. So the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth-Gilead, and when he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. I have a message for you, commander, he said. For which of us? Jehu asked. For you, commander, he replied. Jehu got up and went into the house. And the prophet poured the oil on Jehu's head and declared, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I anoint you king over the Lord's people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab, your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the Lord's servants shed by Jezebel. The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel, slave or free. I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and like the house of Basha, son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her. Then he opened the door. And ran. When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you? You know the man and the sort of things he says, Jehu replied. That's not true, they said. Tell us. And Jehu said, This is what he told me. This is what the Lord says. I anoint you king over Israel. They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, Jehu is king. So Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now remember, the author says, Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth-Gilead against Hazael, king of Aram. But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle with Hazael, king of Aram. Jehu said to his commander companions, If this is the way you feel, don't let anyone slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel. And he got into his chariot and he rode to Jezreel because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah, king of Judah, had gone down to see him. When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu's troops approaching, he called out, I see troops coming. Get a horseman, Joram ordered. Send him to meet them and ask, do you come in peace? The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, this is what the king says, do you come in peace? What do you have to do with peace? Jehu replied, fall in behind me. Lookout reported, the messenger has reached him, but he isn't coming back. So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them, he said, this is what the king says, do you come in peace? Jehu replied, what do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me. Lookout reported, he has reached them, but he isn't coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu, son of Nimshi. He drives like a madman. Hitch up my chariot, Joram ordered, and when he had hitched it up, Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth, the Jezreelite. When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, Have you come in peace, Jehu? How can there be peace, Jehu replied, as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound. Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, Treachery, Ahaziah. Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were riding together in chariots behind Ahab, his father, when the Lord made this prophecy about him. Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and on the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the Lord. Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot in accordance with the word of the Lord. When Ahaziah, king of Judah, saw what had happened, he fled up the road to Beth Hagen. Jehu chased him, shouting, Kill him too! They wounded him in his chariot, and he got away to Ger near Iblium. On the way up to Ger near Iblium. But he escaped to Megiddo and died there. His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in the tomb in the city of David. In the eleventh year of Joram, son of Ahab, Ahaziah, had become king of Judah. Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair, and looked out the window. And as Jehu entered the gate, she asked, Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master? He looked up at the window and called out, Who is on my side? Who? And two or three eunuchs looked down at him. Throw her down, Jehu said. So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall, and the horses as they trampled her underfoot. Jehu went in and ate and drank. Take care of that cursed woman, he said, and bury her, for she was a king's daughter. But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet, and her hands. They went back and told Jehu, who said, This is the word of the Lord, and he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite. On the plot of ground at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh. Jezebel's body will be like refuse on the ground in the plot of Jezreel so that no one will be able to say, this is Jezebel. Now there were in Samaria 70 sons of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab's children. And he said, as soon as this letter reaches you, since your master's sons are with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons, choose the best and the most worthy of your master's sons and set him on his father's throne. then fight for your master's house. But they were terrified and said, If two kings could not resist him, how can we? So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu. We are your servants and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king. You do whatever you think best. And Jehu wrote them a second letter saying, If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the royal princes, 70 of them, were with the leading men of the city who were rearing them. When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all 70 of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, they have brought the heads of the princes. Then Jehu ordered to put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning. The next morning, Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him. But who has killed all these? Know then that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he promised through his servant Elijah. So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends, and his priests, leaving him no survivor. Jehu then set out and went towards Samaria. At Beth-Echad of the shepherds, he met some relatives of Ahaziah, king of Judah. And he asked, Who are you? They said, We are relatives of Ahaziah, and we have come down to greet the families of the kings and of the queen mother. Take them alive, he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well at Beth-Echad. Forty-two men. He left no survivor. After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab, son of Rechab, who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, Are you in accord with me as I am with you? I am, Jehonadab answered. Well, if so, said Jehu, give me your hand. So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot. Jehu said, come with me and see my zeal for the Lord. Then he had him ride along in his chariot. When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab's family. He destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah. Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his ministers and all his priests, so that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live. But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the ministers of Baal. Jehu said, Call an assembly in honor of Baal, so they proclaimed it. Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the ministers of Baal came. Not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other, And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, Bring robes for all the ministers of Baal. So he brought out robes for them. And Jehu and Jehonadab, son of Rechab, went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the ministers of Baal, Look around and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you, only ministers of Baal. So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted 80 men outside with his warning, If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, It will be your life for his life. As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers, Go in and kill them. Let no one escape. So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it. They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal. And the people have used it for a latrine to this day. So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. however he did not turn away from the sins of jeroboam son of nebat which had caused israel to commit the worship of the golden calves at bethel and dan the lord said to jehu because you have done well in accomplishing 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 yet jehu was not careful to keep the law of god the god of israel with all his heart He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit. In those days, the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory, east of the Jordan. Here ends the reading of God's Word. What a story. In this story we come face to face with a man named Jehu. A man that the Lord through his prophet anointed as his chosen king over Israel. A man that we were first introduced to in 1 Kings chapter 19. When the Lord sent Elijah back from running away from Jezebel and told him to go anoint Elisha, prophet. Hazael, king of Aram, and Jehu, king of Israel. All men chosen to administer and bring the judgment of God against Israel. The wickedness of Israel. Shortly thereafter, Elijah announced judgment on Ahab and his household in 1 Kings chapter 21. And when he did, Ahab repented. Wicked Ahab repented and the Lord showed him mercy. He showed him mercy by delaying this judgment until after Ahab would die and it would come in the days of his sons. Joram, of course, his first son on the throne. I'm sorry, his second son on the throne. But it seems that when Ahab died, the memory of God's judgment to come died with him. Years passed and Ahab's legacy, or perhaps we should call it Jezebel's legacy, continued to grow until it threatened to cut off the line of David in Judah and to extinguish the worship of the Lord God in his temple in Jerusalem. It seemed that Jezebel was getting away with murder, physical and spiritual. But justice delayed is not justice denied. And the appointed time came. And when it did, it came like a thief in the night, and out of the blue, suddenly, without notice, Elisha's on the scene, charging this young prophet to tuck your cloak into your belt. Run like there's no tomorrow to Ramoth Gilead, and you anoint Jehu to be king. and then get out of there. And that's when we're introduced to Jehu. When the prophet finds him in Ramoth-Gilead, one commander among many, sitting with the troops. Before he realized what was happening, Jehu was anointed king of Israel. And he didn't seem too thrilled about it. So when he came out from the inner chamber, the comrades asked him why this prophet, this madman, had come to him. And he tried to sidestep the question by saying, You know, you know the man and the sort of things he says. Don't bother me about this. But the anointing of God was not something that he could keep secret, nor was it something that he could accept or reject. It was done. And they pressed him until he told the truth, and he seemed shocked by their response. They not only treated him with honor above his rank, but they announced to the city with trumpets that Jehu was king. And they proved their loyalty to him by quarantining the city so that no one could go to Jezreel and to announce his coup. But to all appearances, Jehu was nothing special. Just one of the guys. But appearances can be deceiving, as we have seen before. In spite of our first impression, it soon becomes clear that the Lord had equipped this man for this day, for this call to serve as king. By God's design, Jehu not only had a zeal for the Lord and a hatred for the witchery and the harlotry of Jezebel, but he was an extraordinary military strategist who, through the circumstances that were orchestrated by the Lord, he took the kingdom in a matter of probably two to maybe three days. His use of force was devastating, but it was limited. In fact, it was more precise than any of our smart bombs or smart missiles today. He hit every wicked target with no collateral damage. Well, our text continues, turning again to chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, with the Lord, through His prophet, giving to Jehu His mandate for accomplishing His revealed will. You are to destroy the house of Ahab, your master. And the accomplishment for that is set forth in chapter 9, verses 14, through chapter 10, 28. The bulk of our text this morning is the accomplishment of God's will. And the Lord expands on what He would accomplish through Jehu in verses 8 through 10 of chapter 9, repeating the very judgment He had announced through Elijah the Tishbite years before. He says, The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel, slave or free. And as for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel and no one will bury her. Unleashed by the vote of confidence by his comrades, Jehu got into his chariot and he rode to Jezreel. He drove like a madman to where the Lord had gathered Joram, Ahaziah, and Jezebel. You've heard of the expression, killing two birds with one stone. The Lord had set up three. Well, Joram's alarm at seeing two of his messengers go out and not come back was growing. But then when it was recognized it was Jehu in the lead, I have to believe that his guard was dropped and he was relieved for this is one of his commanders coming from Ramoth Gilead with what he hoped was good news about the battle that was waging there. And so he and King Joram and King Ahaziah rode out to meet Jehu. They got in their chariots. They met him out there. But to their surprise, he had not come in peace. He had come with the sword. And when Joram tried to run, Jehu killed him with an arrow. And with poetic justice, God had caused them to meet Jehu on the very plot of ground that Joram's parents had stolen from Naboth. Children, you know the story of Naboth's vineyard. And in a divine irony, Jehu had been there the day that Elijah told Ahab the news. Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground. And so Jehu dumped Joram's body on the Naboth's plot. He ordered his men to shoot King Ahaziah too. God's justice demanded that he was a grandson of Ahab. But, unlike Joram, for the sake of David, God showed mercy to Judah. He allowed their king to escape the battlefield before he died and he allowed his body to be taken back to Jerusalem to be buried. Two kings down and Jehu is off to Jezreel and by the time he gets to the city gate, Jezebel is ready for him. She's waiting, ready for a showdown. We should not underestimate this woman. She wasn't getting pretty. She was being as regal and as authoritative as she could look. This woman who was the only person we have in Scripture that was intimidated enough to scare Elijah the prophet to run away for his life and despair of his ministry. And so Jehu comes face to face with her. And she greets him with hostility and with sarcasm when she says, Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master? With this greeting, she hoped to cut this revolution short right then, right there. Because what she was doing was reminding Jehu and his soldiers and the city of Jezreel of what had happened to the last commander who had taken the throne by force, Zimri. Zimri lasted one week. before the nation turned against him and he was dead. He was killed at the hand of Omri, which was Ahab's father, who started the dynasty that Jezebel now ruled. She wanted to stop right there, but Jehu, undeterred, took a poll. Let's see who's on my side. Who is on my side, he says. Well, enough, it turns out, to have Jezebel thrown out the window to the ground and to be trampled underfoot by his horses. Her death was a horrible death, but that was not the end of her judgment. While Jehu went inside and celebrated his victory with a feast, fit for a king, the dogs were feasting on Jezebel outside her window, accomplishing the will of the Lord. Well, having cut off the house of Ahab at its roots, Jehu turned his attention to the branches. He cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel, slave or free. That was his mandate. Back when Elijah told Ahab the original announcement of judgment, he added one sentence that doesn't appear here, that Jehu doesn't repeat, but it's significant. There he said that dogs will eat those who belong to Ahab who die in the city, and birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country, meaning there's no place they can run and hide. All of them will be killed. And so Jehu proceeded to leave from Jezreel to eliminate all the males belonging to Ahab in the city and in the country. His first objective was Joram's 70 sons in Samaria. Scattered throughout the city in the most heavily fortified and defended city in the nation. And this is where his stratagems become evident. He did not march on the city. He didn't have a chance to march on the city. He just played on their fear and he challenged them to anoint a new king and in all their strength to come out and fight. But with two kings dead in less than a few minutes, they feared, they gave up. And at his request, they executed the 70 sons of Joram and they sent their heads to Jezreel. Now if the Jezreelites had any hope for rescue from Samaria, they were dashed that morning when they awoke to see the heads of Joram's sons outside their city gate and Jehu standing there before them to declare that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he has promised through his servant Elijah. They folded. They stood aside as Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel that remained in the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends, and his priests, men who had helped Jezebel murder Naboth. There were no survivors. Leaving Jezreel on his way to Samaria, the Lord delivered into Jehu's hands 42 other men, 42 relatives of Ahaziah, 42 members of the house of Ahab. And then when he arrived at Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab's family and he destroyed them. He exterminated them. That's what the Hebrew says. According to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah. There was just one thing left to do. to accomplish the Lord's will for cleaning house in Israel. And that was to destroy the root from which the house of Ahab grew. Baal worship. So Jehu posed as the most devoted worshiper of Baal Israel had ever seen. More devoted than Ahab. And he called for all the prophets and the ministers and the priests of Baal to come to an assembly to honor Baal. And no one dared be absent under threat of death for dishonoring Baal. But at the same time they came willingly. They rushed to their destruction, eager to worship this God of their own making, happy to point out who in the room didn't belong to them, unknowingly sparing the children of God. And Jehu killed them all. He demolished the sacred stone of Baal and he burned down the temple, turned it into a public toilet. You see, what Elijah had begun back in 1 Kings, It was in particular at Mount Carmel in the showdown with the ministers of Baal. Jehu finished in Samaria, accomplishing the will of the Lord. And God commended Jehu for all these things in chapter 10, verse 30. He says, because you have done well in accomplishing 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. 21st century sensibilities, we find ourselves saying, how can this be? How can God commend such terrible atrocities of war? We have to answer that question. And the reason is given to us in the text. Because when the Lord cleaned house with his anointed king who accomplished his will, he did so for a very good reason. They deserved it. They deserved it. Look again at our text, chapter 9, verse 7. Through all that Jehu did, it was the Lord who was at work, avenging His martyred saints. He said, I will avenge the blood of My servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the Lord's servants shed by Jezebel. I will avenge. In Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse 35, the Lord reveals that this is His divine right. It is Mine to avenge. I will repay. And this means that He alone has not only the right, but also the power to exact satisfaction, to exact payment for a wrong by punishing the wrongdoer. It is mine to avenge. I will repay. But the Lord did not leave this simply a statement of fact in Scripture. He gave us a living and dynamic example of it in the Old Testament under the law, in the office we call, and you have heard of before, the kinsman redeemer. And when I say that, you think of Boaz and Naomi and Ruth. But the kinsman redeemer, the closest male relative, was not only responsible to redeem property and to redeem liberty and to redeem posterity for next of kin, like Boaz did for Naomi. He also had the responsibility to redeem the lives of his people through the avenging of blood. If someone was murdered, the kinsman redeemer could act as the judge, jury, an executioner. But God in his wisdom offered protection for the innocent. Those who killed someone without malice and by accident, they could flee to a city of refuge and there they could stay. As long as the city court did not find them guilty of murder, they could stay in that city and they would be spared, they would be safe. But if they left, the avenger of blood could have his way. According to 1 Kings chapter 18, Jezebel exterminated the Lord's prophets in such great numbers that Elijah thought he was the last one left, only to be told that Obadiah had taken a hundred and hidden them away at caves. The blood of the prophets had been spilled. And when we read in 1 Kings chapter 21 about Jezebel and Ahab stealing Naboth's vineyard, having him murdered in order to get it, we must not conclude that they're the only victims of Ahab and Jezebel. That's an example for us of their wickedness. The blood of the Lord's servants had been shed. And the Lord God of Israel is the Redeemer of His chosen people. He's the kinsman Redeemer. He's the avenger of blood with the right and the authority to exact vengeance on those who drew blood of His own. And that's what we see Jehu fulfilling here. acting as the anointed king, acting in the name of the Lord to avenge the blood of God's people. There are many subtle things in the story that I cannot share with you today, but I'll share this one, and that is it's a divine irony that when Joram and Ahaziah left Ramoth-Gilead, they left the city of refuge. They left a place where they could be safe until proved guilty in a court of law. But as soon as they left, they were fair game for Jehu, the avenger of blood, in the name of the Lord. This is a graphic story. It sets us back on our heels to hear that our God, who we call Almighty God and our Father, not only sanctioned such things, but ordained such things and accomplished such things. Our heads can be reeling and our hearts can be distressed, as they should be. But not because Jehu somehow went too far or killed too many or because God's judgment is too severe. We have the summary at the end of the story that he didn't go far enough. What ought to distress us is the fact that man's wickedness and sin is so immense and so offensive that it deserves, that God's justice demands this kind of payment. In our confession, in our catechism, Heidelberg question and answer 11, we confess this. We say there that God is certainly merciful, and indeed He is, but He is also just. His justice demands that sin, committed against His supreme majesty, be punished with the supreme penalty, eternal punishment of body and soul. That's the point. That's the point. The judgment accomplished through Jehu pales in comparison to what the Lord will accomplish on the last day when He comes in judgment against the wicked. when he comes to clean house in this world once and for all. As the author of Hebrews says, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And that's what the story would show us. So, we ask, what are we to do with this story? It's not a very uplifting one, Pastor. Well, first we're to be reminded that there is a day of judgment coming. A day when the Lord will pour out his justice upon every sin and sinner. And that day, like the day of Jehu, will come like a thief in the night when it's least expected. The Apostle Paul says of that day in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and 5 that the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet call of God, like a thief in the night. While people are saying peace and safety, the destruction will come on them suddenly and they will not escape. Every man, woman, and child, depending upon his or her own strength, his or her own wits or goodness or anything else that you would throw up as a god of your own choosing will be just as unsuccessful as Ahab and his household as they depended upon the god of their own choosing. None will escape this judgment. Second, we are to be humbled by the fact that our sin deserves nothing less than what the household of Ahab received. Our sin deserves nothing less than what the household of Ahab received. And we're to know this so that we will look outside of ourselves and we'll cling and we'll throw ourselves upon the mercy of God. The mercy of God that caused him to send his son into this world to provide the way of escape. To provide the way out from under. The God, man, Jesus Christ, the anointed King of kings and Lord of lords who fully accomplishes the will of His Father has come down from heaven. And by His life, He perfectly fulfilled all righteousness, earning the commendation of God, earning the life that we need. And by His death on the cross, He perfectly satisfied God's vengeance, His vengeance against the sins of God's people. And in so doing, He has become our city of refuge. He is the place, He is the one to where we must flee if we are to escape this judgment. And He has risen from the dead. He has ascended to the right hand of God, the Father in heaven. And there, as He works, He also waits. He waits for the day when He will come again, as Paul said. And He'll come as the avenger of blood. Even now, according to Revelation 6, verses 9 and 10, those who have been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained call out in a loud voice, How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? And in the meantime, we too must wait. We too must wait, struggling against the wickedness of the devil and of the world and of our own flesh, finding our refuge and our strength in Christ. And as we do, we have this assurance from the Word of God. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, verses 6 through 10. God is just. He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. The day his judgment is coming. There will be no escape for those who deny Christ. But there will be escape. There is refuge in Jesus Christ our Lord. And therefore, this is the assurance we are to have as God's people. An assurance that we confess in our Heidelberg Catechism. And now I want you to turn to your mark in the Psalter hymnal. It's this assurance that we confess in question and answer 52. And I want each of you who trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you from the wrath of God against your sin, that wrath that is coming, to answer this question out loud. How does Christ return to judge the living and the dead comfort you? In my distress and persecution, I turn my eyes to the heavens and confidently await as judge the very one who has already stood trial in my place before God and so has removed the whole curse from me. All his enemies and mine he will condemn to everlasting punishment. but me and all his chosen ones he will take along with him into the joy and the glory of heaven. Amen.