God's Anointing for Christian Believers. (2 Kings 9: 1-37)

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Episode Notes: God's Anointing for Christian Believers. (2 Kings 9: 1-37)

We don’t use the word very often anymore, but it’s a deeply biblical word — anointing. Some preachers use it so loosely that you almost raise an eyebrow. Others hardly mention it at all. But Scripture is clear: God anoints people.

 In the Old Testament, prophets were anointed, priests were anointed, and Kings were anointed. And in the New Testament, John tells us plainly in 1 John 2 that believers, all genuine Christian believers, are anointed as well.

 So, the question becomes: What does it mean to be anointed?  And what does that look like for us today?

 To answer that, we’re going to look at one of the clearest pictures of anointing in the Old Testament. The moment when God anointed a man named Jehu. His story gives us a window into what anointing meant then, and what it means for us now.

Transcript

God's Anointing for Christian Believers. (2 Kings 9: 1-37)

We don’t use the word very often anymore, but it’s a deeply biblical word — anointing.

Some preachers use it so loosely that you almost raise an eyebrow. Others hardly mention it at all. But Scripture is clear: God anoints people.

In the Old Testament, prophets were anointed.

Priests were anointed.

Kings were anointed.

And in the New Testament, John tells us plainly in 1 John 2 that believers, all genuine Christian believers, are anointed as well.

So, the question becomes:

What does it mean to be anointed?  

And what does that look like for us today?

To answer that, we’re going to look at one of the clearest pictures of anointing in the Old Testament. The moment when God anointed a man named Jehu. His story gives us a window into what anointing meant then, and what it means for us now.

So, let’s open our Bibles to 2 Kings 9.

1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, “Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. 2 Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among his associates, and take him to an inner room. 3 Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.”

(2 Kings 9: 1-3)

The chapter opens with Elisha, the leading prophet of the day, calling one of the “sons of the prophets.” That phrase doesn’t mean biological sons. It refers to the students in the prophetic school, something like a seminary under Elisha’s leadership.

Elisha gives this young man a very specific assignment: of taking a flask of oil and go to Ramoth‑Gilead, and when he gets there, finding Jehu, pull him aside into a private room, and anoint him. Not publicly. Not ceremonially. Privately. Quietly. Secretly.

Why?

Because this anointing wasn’t just symbolic, it was dangerous.

It meant a change of power. It meant judgment was coming. It meant God was about to intervene dramatically in the nation.

And before we go any further, let me clear up a detail that confuses many people. The Jehoshaphat mentioned here is not the godly king of Judah. This is a different Jehoshaphat, a man in the northern kingdom. Jehu is being anointed king over Israel, the northern kingdom, not Judah.

That matters because the northern kingdom rarely had kings appointed by God. Most seized power. Few were chosen. Jehu is one of the rare exceptions.

Then the anointing itself, Pour the oil. Deliver the message.

And then, don’t linger. Don’t explain. Don’t negotiate. Just run. “That’s quite an instruction

Why?

Because this anointing was not a gentle commissioning. It was a divine appointment to carry out judgment.

In the Old Testament, anointing symbolised the Holy Spirit coming upon someone to empower them for a specific task. Sometimes the Spirit stayed. Sometimes He departed. But the anointing always meant that God is giving the person the authority and the ability to do what He has called you to do.”

In Jehu’s case, that calling was a severe challenge. He was to bring justice to the house of Ahab, a dynasty soaked in idolatry, corruption, and bloodshed.

You remember Jezebel, the wicked queen who imported Baal worship into Israel. You remember Ahab, the king who murdered Naboth just to steal his vineyard. God had promised judgment, and now the time had come.

Jehu was being anointed not just to rule… but to execute justice.

4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. 5 And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting; and he said, “I have a message for you, Commander.”

Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, Commander.” 6 Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you, king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. 7 You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free. 9 So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 10 The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.’” And he opened the door and fled. 11 Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.” 12 And they said, “A lie! Tell us now.” So, he said, “Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’” 13 Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it [b]under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!”

(2 Kings 9: 4-13)

The young prophet pulls Jehu aside, pours the oil on his head, and delivers the message:

“You shall strike down the house of Ahab…

I will avenge the blood of My servants…

The dogs shall eat Jezebel…”

This is not a gentle calling.

This is not a comfortable ministry.

This is a divine assignment to confront evil head‑on.

And then, just as Elisha instructed, the young prophet opens the door and runs for his life.

When Jehu steps back outside, where the other military commanders are waiting. They’ve seen this strange young man arrive, whisper something, pull Jehu away, and then sprint out of the building.

Naturally, they ask: 

“Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?”

Prophets were often viewed as eccentric, intense, unpredictable, and sometimes unsettling people. Jehu tries to brush it off: “You know the man and his babbling…” But they don’t buy it. So, Jehu finally tells them: “The Lord has anointed me king over Israel.”

And instantly, the atmosphere changes. The commanders throw their cloaks on the steps to form a makeshift throne. They blow the trumpet. They shout: “Jehu is king!”

Now remember, Jehu wasn’t just anointed to rule… he was anointed to execute justice. This wasn’t a ceremonial crown‑placing. This was a commission to carry out God’s verdict, a role more like that of a judge overseeing punishment than that of a king sitting on a throne.

And the rest of the chapter shows us how Jehu carried out that judgment.

14 So Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth Gilead against Hazael, king of Aram, 15 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, “If you desire to make me king, don’t let anyone slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.” 16 Then he got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, had gone down to see him. 17 When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, he called out, “I see some troops coming.” “Get a horseman,” Joram ordered. “Send him to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’”

18 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.” The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”

19 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.” 20 The 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 maniac.” 21 “Hitch up my chariot,” Joram ordered. And when it was hitched 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 Jezerite. 22 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?” 23 Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”

24 Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot. 25 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 spoke this prophecy against him: 26 ‘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, declares the Lord.’[c] Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”

27 When Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw what had happened, he fled up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him, shouting, “Kill him too!” They wounded him in his chariot on the way up to Gur near Ibleam, but he escaped to Megiddo and died there. 28 His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his ancestors in his tomb in the City of David. 29 (In the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.)

(2 Kings 9: 14-29)

This passage tells us Jehu conspired against Joram, the king of the northern kingdom. Joram had been wounded in battle against Syria and was recovering in Jezreel. Jehu tells his men, “Don’t let anyone slip out of the city to warn him.” In other words: “I’m going — but keep this quiet.”

Jehu mounts his chariot and heads straight for Jezreel.

As Jehu approaches, a watchman spots a company of riders coming toward the city. He alerts King Joram, who sends out a horseman to ask: “Is it peace?” Meaning: “Has the battle ended? Are things settled?”

Jehu responds: “What do you know about peace? Fall in behind me.” And the messenger does exactly that. The watchman then reports back that the messenger reached them… but he isn’t returning.”

So, the king sends a second messenger.

Same question.

Same response.

Same result.

But then the watchman says something fascinating: “The driving is like the driving of Jehu… for he drives furiously, like a madman.”

Joram and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, both ride out to meet Jehu. And where do they meet? On the very plot of land that once belonged to Naboth, the vineyard Ahab and Jezebel stole through murder.

God never forgets injustice, and He never ignores innocent blood.

Joram then calls out, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And Jehu answers: “How can there be peace as long as your mother Jezebel’s witchcraft and harlotries continue?”

In other words: “There is no peace when idolatry rules the land.”

Jezebel hadn’t just promoted Baal worship; she had introduced sorcery, demonic consultation, and spiritual corruption into Israel. And the nation’s leaders embraced it.

So, Jehu draws his bow and strikes Joram through the heart. The king collapses in his chariot.

Jehu then orders, “Throw him onto the field of Naboth.” Why? Because God had promised Ahab that judgment would fall on that very ground.

And here’s a detail we didn’t know until now: “Jezebel had also killed Naboth’s sons, ensuring no one could claim the land”.

God saw it, God remembered it, and God now repaid it.

Ahaziah, king of Judah, sees what’s happening and flees. But Jehu pursues him as well. Ahaziah is struck in his chariot, escapes to Megiddo, and dies there.

His body is taken to Jerusalem and given an honourable burial, unlike Joram, whose corpse was thrown onto the ground he helped steal.

Two kings.

Two deaths.

Two very different endings.

And Jehu has now completed the second part of his assignment:

The execution of the northern king and his southern ally.

So, in summary, 

·         Jehu was anointed, privately, purposefully, and by God’s command.

·         Jehu began his assignment, confronting and executing the king of Israel.

·         Jehu continues his assignment, pursuing and executing the king of Judah who had joined in the same corruption.

But now we come to the final scene — and it is the most striking of all.

This is the moment Jezebel steps onto the stage for the last time.

30 Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she put on eye makeup, arranged her hair, and looked out of a window. 31 As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri, you murderer of your master?” 32 He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. 33 “Throw her down!” Jehu said. So, they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot. 34 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.” 35 But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet, and her hands. 36 They went back and told Jehu, who said, “This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh. 37 Jezebel’s body will be like dung on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”

(2 Kings 9: 30-37)

When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it, and she applied makeup, adorned her head, and looked out of the window.”

That detail stops you in your tracks.

She knows what’s coming.

She knows Jehu has been anointed to bring judgment.

She knows her dynasty is collapsing.

And what does she do?

She puts on her makeup.

She fixes her hair.

She presents herself like royalty.

Women listening today understand exactly what this verse means. Jezebel is preparing herself to go out like a queen. Arrogant to the very end. Defiant. Unbowed. Unrepentant.

And for the record, ancient art confirms that women in that era used eye paint and cosmetics. Jezebel wasn’t inventing anything new. She was simply doing what she had always done: projecting power and control.

As Jehu enters the city gate, Jezebel calls down: “Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?”

She doesn’t call him Jehu. She calls him Zimri, a man who assassinated a king and was himself killed shortly afterwards, 

It’s sarcasm, it’s mockery, and it’s her way of saying: “You may kill me… but you won’t last long either.”

She is wrong, by the way.

Jehu then looks up and asks, “Who is on my side?” 

Two or three eunuchs, her own attendants, step forward. They’ve served her for years, but they know evil when they see it. And Jehu gives the order: “Throw her down.” And they do.

We are then told her blood splatters the wall, and the horses trample her body. The queen who once terrorised prophets and murdered the innocent dies in the most humiliating way imaginable.

The king of Judah received an honourable burial…. Jezebel receives the opposite.

After he has eaten, he orders her body to be buried. But when the servants go to retrieve her remains, they find only body parts…. The dogs have eaten the rest.

Exactly as Elijah, the preceding prophet, had prophesied decades earlier, saying. “On the plot of ground at Jezreel, the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel.” And so, it happened.

A gruesome ending, but a just one.

So, what are we meant to learn from this?

1. God’s justice is real.

This passage is not about personal revenge.

It is not about political violence.

It is about divine justice.

Ahab and Jezebel murdered the innocent, persecuted God’s servants, and led a nation into idolatry and demonic practices. According to the Law of Moses, these were capital crimes.

Jehu’s assignment was not personal vengeance; it was God’s judgment.

And Scripture is clear: A society cannot have peace without justice. When punishment disappears, chaos follows.

We are watching that unfold in our own world today.

2. God anoints people for a purpose.

Jehu was anointed for a specific task, a difficult, unpleasant, but necessary task.

Not all God‑given assignments are comfortable, and not all callings are easy. But when God anoints someone, He equips them for exactly what He calls them to do.

3. God’s Word always comes to pass.

Elijah had prophesied Jezebel’s end, and every detail unfolded exactly as God said.

The Word of God is never wrong.

Never late.

Never uncertain.

Jehu was anointed to execute justice.

But if we are anointed, what are we anointed onto, for what purpose, and in what way?

Romans 12 tells us that after we trust Christ, the next step is transformation, the renewing, the renovating of our minds. God anoints us for service, for spiritual gifts, for ministry, for influence, for obedience.

Jehu’s anointing was for judgment…. Ours is for Christlikeness. And that begins with presenting ourselves to God — body, mind, and will — as a living sacrifice.

So, let’s bring this home.

We’ve talked about Jehu’s anointing, a calling that was specific, difficult, and God‑ordained. But the question for us is, what does God’s anointing look like in the life of a believer today?

Romans 12 gives us one of the clearest answers in all of Scripture.

Paul says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” And then he immediately tells us where that renewal begins: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.”

Isn’t that fascinating? If you and I were making a list of the top three things we need to “renovate” in our thinking, we probably wouldn’t start with pride. But Paul does.

He says the first step in spiritual transformation is to stop overestimating yourself. That’s Paul’s point.

Take out the inflated view of yourself… and replace it with something sober, realistic, grounded.

Paul also says, “Think soberly.”

It’s one of my favourite Greek words in the New Testament. It means to think clearly, to think soundly, and to think with self‑control

A sober mind is a mind that can control the tongue, the temper, the impulses, and the ego. It’s a mind that sees itself accurately.

And then Paul explains what sober thinking looks like in practice.

He says the body of Christ is like the human body, many members, many functions, none identical, all necessary. Eyes don’t do what ears do. Hands don’t do what feet do.

And in the same way, every believer has a spiritual gift — a God‑given ability to serve.

Just as Jehu was anointed for a specific task, you too have been anointed for service.

So, it then becomes about discovering what your gift is. Now, people often say, “I don’t know what my gift is.” And here’s the simple truth: For every spiritual gift, there is a spiritual responsibility. 

There is a gift of exhortation; all believers are called to encourage.

There is a gift of giving; all believers are called to give.

There is a gift of teaching; all believers are called to share the truth.

So, here’s the best advice I can give you: Just start serving in these universal ways. Through encouraging sharing and giving, do what you can. Do what Scripture commands. And in time, your unique gift will reveal itself.

John Wesley said it beautifully:

“Do all the good you can,

in all the ways you can,

for all the souls you can,

in every place you can,

at all the times you can,

with all the zeal you can,

as long as ever you can.”

That’s the Christian life.

That’s the anointed life.

Or as my father used to say: “Your best ability is your availability.”

And this is where Jezebel comes into our picture. Jezebel is a biblical picture of pride. She thought of herself more highly than she ought. She lived for power, control, and self‑importance.

If you want to see what God means by service, look at a mother with a newborn. There is no substitute for a mother’s sacrificial love. Motherhood is the very definition of servanthood.

It is humility in action; it is love poured out, and that is what God calls every believer to be: A servant.

If you walked into a room of strangers and someone introduced you, how would they describe you?

We usually lead with occupation: But that’s not who you are, that is what you do.

James — the half‑brother of Jesus — didn’t introduce himself as “James, the brother of the Messiah.” He said, “James, a bond‑servant of God.”

Jude did the same.

And the ultimate example is Jesus Himself. Philippians 2 tells us:

“He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant… and humbled Himself to the point of death.”

Jesus said: “I did not come to be served, but to serve.” If you want to be Christlike, tattoo this on the inside of your mind: “I am a servant.” That is the heart of the anointed life.

OUTRO:

Thank you for joining me today.

We’ve seen that God’s anointing isn’t about status, emotion, or spiritual theatrics. It’s about purpose, service, and humility.

And in our next episode, we’re going to continue this journey by stepping into 2 Kings 9, where we explore what God’s anointing looks like in the life of a believer — not just historically, but practically, personally, and powerfully.

It’s an episode about calling, courage, and the surprising ways God equips ordinary people for extraordinary purposes.

So, I hope you’ll join me next time as we continue this series together.

Until then.

Walk in humility,

Serve with joy, and remember:

You are anointed for a purpose.