This is part of a series. I recommend starting with the first installment.

We started this series examining an ethical dilemma that was posed in Hosea.

And 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. (Hosea 1:4)

When one first reads the passage, the dilemma is not obvious. It is only when we explore who Jehu is and what the blood of Jezreel might mean that we find a challenge. What we find is the possibility that God asked Jehu to perform an action, then praised and rewarded him for doing what was asked, only to then punish him for it?

That should be an unsettling image of God, who is often described as good (Ps 100:5; 107:1).

We have examined numerous options that are used to address the challenge.

• Jehu exceeded what God asked when he killed those that allied with Jehoram
• Jehu exceeded what God asked when he killed Ahaziah, king of Judah
• Jehu exceeded what God asked when he killed the worshipers of Baal
• Jehu did not have the right motives, despite doing all of the right things

Numerous scholars and commentators disagree on which of these solutions is the correct one. Each of these answers has significant weaknesses when one reads through the numerous passages that relate to the events. It is reasonable to conclude that all of these actions were part of what God expected out of Jehu and were commended. It is also rationale to accept Jehu as having the right motives while performing these actions.

So where does that leave us?

This is part of a series. I recommend starting with the first installment.

Welcome back to the series where we are exploring the dilemma that Hosea presents in the opening passages. If you are just joining the series I recommend starting with part one.

In the prior posts we examined three ways in which some commentators and scholars attempt to solve the dilemma. They are all rooted in the broad idea that Jehu went beyond what God commanded and that the excessive actions were not part of what was praised.

In this post we will look at a different approach to solving the dilemma. We saw what this approach was in the Gill entry regarding the slaughter of the Baal worshipers.

… because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes: in rooting out the idolatry of Baal, which was right in the sight of God, and was materially a good work, though it might not be done from a good principle, nor every step taken in doing it justifiable (Gill)

Gill argues, as did the prior post, that wiping out the worship of Baal was right but the motives behind the act were not. Therefore the punishment that will be brought against the house of Jehu will be rooted in the motives not the acts themselves.

This is part of a series. I recommend starting with the first installment.

In the first part of this series we laid out the dilemma that Hosea presents that suggests God sought revenge for an act that he both commanded and praised.

And 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. (Hosea 1:4)

In the second and third part of the series, we examined ways some commentators attempt to get out of this dilemma and how they do not work.

In this installment we will examine another, related premise, as to how the dilemma may be solved.

The third related premise is that Jehu exceeded his mandate when he killed the worshippers of Baal.

After Jehu has managed to secure his claim to the throne of Israel through the killing of Jehoram and others in the line of Ahab, he begins to wipe out the Baal cult (2 Kings 10:18-28).

The way Jehu went about this itself was rooted in deceit. He called together the people and claimed that he would follow Baal even more than Ahab had. In gathering the Baal worshippers together, under the pretense of a major sacrifice, as well as the threat of death for missing it, Jehu has them all slaughtered.

The wiping out of the Baal worshipers is cited in an AiG article (emphasis added) as part of the solution to the dilemma presented in Hosea (link).

Jehu also slaughtered a large gathering of Baal worshipers and essentially “destroyed Baal from Israel” (2 Kings 10:28). Yet, as far as we know, God never commanded Jehu to do this, even though the Lord despised the worship of Baal. Jehu was never commended for this action either.

In Gill’s exposition of the 2 Kings passage, he argues that the ends were valid but that the means were not (link).

… because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes: in rooting out the idolatry of Baal, which was right in the sight of God, and was materially a good work, though it might not be done from a good principle, nor every step taken in doing it justifiable

In this article, from Ligonier, we find the author agreeing that Jehu was right in wiping out the worshipers of Baal (link).