These chapters of 2 Kings are particularly gory with large numbers of people reaching gruesome deaths. I understand this to be God revealing himself within primitive aggressive cultures of millenniums ago.
Jehu challenged Ahab's children's guardians to place the best that they had on the throne and fight for it. However in fear and trembling of Jehu they refused to do this. So Jehu took the opportunity to request the heads of all 70 of Ahab's sons and they were all slaughtered accordingly and 2 piles of heads were placed at the entrance to the city gate. Jehu then proceeded to slaughter too 42 relatives of Ahaziah and he also killed all remaining members of Ahab's family.
Next Jehu contrived a plan to annihilate the servants of Baal from the land. For Jehu pretended that he was to be a Baal worshipper and he summoned all Baal's servants and priests to come to a great sacrifice making absence punishable by death. They all crowded into the temple from far and wide and Jehu posted 80 men outside to allow nobody to escape. The guards then attacked all the Baal priests and servants and killed them all, and they turned Baal's temple into a public toilet.
God rewarded Jehu's ruthless action with the promise of a 4 generation dynasty, but he was not totally faithful because he adhered to the worship of golden calves. Because of this God began to reduce the size of Israel, and Jehu died after a reign of 28 years, with his son Jehoahaz succeeding him as king.
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