Updated : 28/11/2004

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When we think of those who God calls to be His leaders, it is natural that we think of them, for all their flaws, as faithful and obedient. King David was a case in point. He was a man whose life was far from perfect and still the Bible says that he was "a man after God's heart". More than a thousand years later, his deep and unyielding love for God would earn him the greatest tribute of all - to have the Jews call Jesus, God and Saviour of all mankind, the 'Son of David'.

Yet, the Bible shows time and again that God uses both the righteous and unrighteous, and the devoted and undevoted. Not only that but, and puzzlingly to some of us, the latter can even receive holy anointing! This was the case of one of the kings of Israel by the name of Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. He lived for just 27 turbulent years (841-814 BC) but managed to turn the whole of Israel and Judah upside down. (2 Kings 9-11)

Jehu was one of Israel's generals and, like all soldiers, owed his loyalty to the king. God, however, had other plans. Elisha the Prophet sent one of his young disciples to anoint Jehu as king instead but before he could take up the throne, he had to assassinate Joram, the King of Israel, Ahaziah, King of Judah and put Queen Jezebel to death.

It is testimony to the faith that Jehu had that he took the young prophet and his anointing seriously and did all this with cold-blooded efficiency. For good measure, he also engineered the death of 70 'sons' (or relatives) of King Ahab, who were descendants of David!

Within a short space of time, Jehu succeeded in wiping out the entire family of Ahab and avenging the killing of Jehovah's prophets by Jezebel. What is more, historians agree that Jehu ignited a great religious revolution by overthrowing the worship of Baal and, for a short time, also united the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

This was a tremendous achievement in a short time and it is no wonder then that 2 Kings 10: 30 records the Lord saying 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."

This was high tribute indeed. Any of us would have been ecstatic merely to be praised by the Lord, let alone given the throne of Israel as a prize. After such compliments, one would also have expected that Jehu would have gone on to be a God-fearing king and to establish a righteous throne. Sadly, just one verse later, in 2 Kings 10: 31, we read the all too familiar words: "Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, 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."

Perhaps it is for this reason that even God's view of Jehu's accomplishments seems to have reversed. In Hosea 1:4, the Lord tells the prophet to call his newborn son 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. In that day I will break Israel's bow in the Valley of Jezreel".

As a king, Jehu was also far from strong. He had to be subservient to the Assyrians until God kept His word and Israel was finally destroyed. In fact, one of the lasting symbols of Jehu's shame is the Black Obelisk that is kept in the British Museum and which records for all time, the gifts that Jehu had to give to the Shalmaneser III in order to keep the peace.

But how could this be? Did God make a serious error in judgement in anointing Jehu king of Israel? The answer, of course, is 'no'. There are many things that we who are without omniscience will never be able to understand but there is one thing that God Himself has revealed to us and that is His nature. He does not make mistakes.

The story of Jehu reminds us that as Christian leaders, we need to be extremely careful to ensure that we do not mistake the things that we do for God with how well or close we are walking with Him. Our achievements are one thing and where our heart and spirit lie is entirely another.

In Matthew 6:1, Jesus said, "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." In Matthew 7:22-23, he said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"

What do these verses signify? Simply that the heart matters. By all means, we should strive to accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God. These accomplishments, however, are not the defining quality of success. Success for Christians is to do the will, the whole will of the Father. It is the quality of the relationship that we have with Him and not the feats that we pull off that will be recognised in the end.