2 Kings 9:11-13 "When Jehu came back to his master's officers, they said to him...

"When Jehu came back to his master's officers, they said to him, 'Is everything all right? Why did that madman come to you?' He answered them, 'You know the sort and how they babble.' They said, 'Liar, Come on, tell us!' So he said, 'This is just what he said to me: 'Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.'' Then hurriedly they all took their cloaks and spread them for him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet, and proclaimed 'Jehu is king'" (2 Kings 9:11-13).

Comment:

The prophet Elijah had been commanded by the Lord to anoint Jehu as king over Israel (1 Kings 19:16) in place of Jehoram, son-in-law of Ahab, who led the people into worshipping Baal. Elijah is not able to complete that assignment, so it is passed on to his successor prophet, Elisha. Elisha goes to the battlefield, takes Jehu aside privately, and anoints him with oil and with the news that he is to be king. (The secrecy is very similar to Samuel's anointing of Saul in 1 Samuel 9:27). Here Jehu is returning to his officers, who naturally want to know what happened. Jehu tries to shrug it off—"You know the sort and how they babble"— but the officers finally get it out of him, and immediately accept the news and treat him as king.   We, too, are often called by God—inspired by guidance from the Lord of our being. And we, too, often try to shrug it off—out of modesty perhaps, or out of fear of what might be involved in accepting the call. But if we have been called, if we have been anointed, our newfound spiritual energy will become apparent to those around us. It is often in the reactions of those around us that we can first see our own spiritual changes.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed