Finishing the job

But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin. – 2 Kings 10v31

I find these kings of Israel an enigma. On one hand many of them are praised for the good they do, but there seems to always be something lacking.

Here we have the example of Jehu. We read in one verse that Jehu ended Baal worship in Israel. For that God promises that four generations of his descendents will continue to reign as king is Israel.

Pretty good, huh? Wiping out Baal worship is a great accomplishment for the Lord. It seems like Jehu was going to go down as a great hero of Israel.

But we come to verse 31. ‘Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord with all his heart.’ He fell short when he did not deal with the golden calf worship of Jeroboam. He started the job, but did not do everything that needed done.

As we read through the Bible, especially the Old Testament and the history of Israel, we find out that major problems arise because God’s people have a tendency not to completely finish the job. We tend to have a victory, then sit back and rest on our laurels. Leaving that bit undone always caused problems for Israel.

If we are honest with ourselves we will have to acknowledge that when we leave that bit undone we are asking for trouble as well.

Stay at the job. Finish the work. Don’t leave those little bits unfinished.