The Maniac King
The other day I came across a couple of Tim Keller quotes in one of my old journals…
“Most people want Jesus as a consultant rather than a king.”
“If you add anything to Jesus as a requirement for being happy, that’s your real king.”
Leave it to Timmy K to go right for the jugular.
But how true is that? We are no different than the Israelites sayings they wanted the one true God as their king, but constantly worshipped other idols too, just in case God didn’t come through. We are no different than the rich young ruler who encountered Jesus, but walked away sad because he just couldn’t give up his idol of worldly security.
This past week we had our winter surf camp session, and during one of the staff meetings I was talking about anxiety and peace. We often acknowledge Jesus as our Prince of Peace, but what we sometimes mean by that is “hey Jesus, will you please make me feel peaceful or change my circumstances without me having to do any work or make any changes in my life?” (I am not speaking about terrible things that happen TO us, I am speaking about the kind of anxiety that points to something disordered within us. Jesus of course can come and meet you and bring peace in the midst of tragedy and loss, but that is a different topic). We often want Jesus to give us peace on top of our anxieties, instead of being willing to go down to the root and let him dig up what is causing them. It’s very understandable why we do this. The latter can be painful and requires vulnerability and trust.
This morning I was drawn to the story of King Jehu in 2 Kings 9. (He’s the one who kills Jezebel)…
After he was quickly anointed king of Israel (given authority), he got in his chariot and raced toward the town where the king of Judah and (about to be former) king of Israel were both recovering from a battle. (Hint, they were both evil kings). King Jehu probably still had oil dripping down his face as he raced toward the town. When the lookouts saw him coming, they sent out a horseman to ask “do you come in peace?”
Jehu replied “what do you have to do with peace?”
“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.’
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.’
‘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 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?’ (verses 19-22)
Then Jehu shoots him with an arrow between the shoulders, kills Ahaziah too, then continues on to have Jezebel killed, then all the servants of Baal… (This is a very bloody story).
But how does this violent story apply to us?
We want peace. We want peace on top of our idolatry, on top of our anxiety, our busy schedules, and sometimes on top of our disobedience and sin.
Here’s a personal example… I’d say I spent a good portion of December feeling anything but peace. The shopping, the planning, the activities, the expectations of others, and the illusion that the weight of Christmas was on my shoulders was very heavy. I would ask Jesus to give me peace and sing to Him as my Prince of Peace, but my actions, my mindset, my priorities needed a major shift. If my pace, my schedule, and my mind are not pointing me to the reality of the gospel… if the fruit of my labor is anxiety and not peace, then I still have some idols to slay.
So, “how can there be peace?”
We have been given authority through Jesus to shoot/ kill the sources of all these things. Romans 8:37 says “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
We are also not alone in it.
Jesus is our Prince of Peace, but He does not give us a superficial kind of “it’s ok, you’re ok” peace that sits like a bandaid on top of what needs to be murdered.
He is the One who wants to ride like a maniac and shoot our sin between the shoulders like Jehu. But we have to let him. We have to identify that which needs to be killed and lay it down, even if it hurts. Some things He has to do for us and all we have to do is submit. Like Eustace, the boy who’s greediness turned him into a dragon, had to lay down and let Aslan scrape the scales off of him. (From C. S. Lewis’ Voyage of the Dawn Treader). Like the ghost in The Great Divorce who has a talking lizard on his shoulder (lust), but can hardly bear the pain of letting the angel kill it. (C.S. Lewis again).
Other things we have authority ourselves to cut off and kill. As it says in Hebrews 12:1:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
And Romans 8:13:
“For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”
Jesus wants us to have peace, but He wants us to have the kind that penetrates the deepest, unseen places. His heart for us is redemption and wholeness as we let Him transform us from the inside out. He loves us as we are, but He’s too merciful to let us stay as we are. He has more in store for each of us… more freedom, healing, and wholeness. More living godly lives of peace and joy.
Anxiety in particular is rampant in our time. Though sometimes we are anxious not because of our own sin issue, but someone else’. We’ve been hurt/ wounded in our childhood or past in a way that keeps us bound today. There can be history of abuse, trauma, and generational patterns that have us believing lies about ourselves and God. And in order to protect ourselves, we resort to fear and control or experience a low-level of anxiety all the time. There is hope for healing and wholeness there too. But we have to be willing to bring it into the light, to let Jesus and others come in and expose the lies. That also takes courage and vulnerability.
Our story is a bloody one too. Some may read the stories of the Old Testament and think, “why so violent God?” But the consequences of sin are violent. They are bloody. We’ve all seen or experienced this in one way or another. The story of the gospel is that Jesus took all the violence of sin… past, present, and future on himself at the cross. HE is our maniac king who rides with all his might TOWARD our sin, our idolatry, our anxiety with the intent to kill. He loves us as we are, but He is too merciful to leave us as we are.
And just when we thought this whole King Jehu story was violent, fast forward to Revelation 19 when we see the image of Jesus at the end of the world as we know it, coming to slay evil once and for all. If this was a movie, I’m not sure you would let your kids watch it…
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” - Revelation 19:11-16
Lord, give us eyes to see that which cannot remain in our lives. Give us courage to ride like Jehu with the authority you have given us… to face our dragons, to face the source of our anxieties and fear, and experience peace that penetrates our souls. Thank you for being our maniac King, who stopped at nothing to save us and will continue to fight for us.