2 Kings 9:11

My Notes

What Does 2 Kings 9:11 Mean?

"Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication." After being secretly anointed king by Elisha's prophet-servant (verses 1-10), Jehu returns to his fellow military officers. They NOTICE something happened — 'Is all well? Why did that madman come to you?' The officers call the prophet a 'MAD FELLOW' (meshugga — crazy, insane). The prophetic figure is dismissed as madness. The divine messenger is laughed off.

The phrase "this mad fellow" (hammeshugga hazzeh — this insane one) shows how the MILITARY establishment views PROPHETS: the soldiers see a young man who ran in, spoke urgently, poured oil, and ran out. From a military perspective, this looks INSANE. The prophetic world and the military world operate on different frequencies. What is divine commission to one is madness to the other.

Jehu's response — "Ye know the man, and his communication" (attem yeda'tem et ha'ish ve'et sicho — you know the man and his speech) — is initially DISMISSIVE: 'You know how these prophetic types are.' Jehu tries to wave off the encounter. He's not ready to reveal what just happened — that he's been anointed king while the current king still reigns. The anointing is a SECRET that becomes public only when Jehu decides to act on it. The private commission precedes the public declaration.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What divine commission in your life has others dismissed as madness?
• 2.What does the officers calling the prophet 'mad' teach about how the establishment views divine messengers?
• 3.How does the instant shift from mockery to monarchy describe the speed at which God can change a situation?
• 4.What 'you know the man and his babbling' dismissal are you hiding behind instead of revealing what God told you?

Devotional

The officers call the prophet a MADMAN. The divine messenger who just anointed a new king is dismissed as 'that crazy fellow.' The gap between what the MILITARY sees and what GOD is doing is enormous: the soldiers see a crazy kid running in and out. God sees a kingdom-transfer in motion. The madness is the commission. The insanity is the anointing.

Jehu's attempt to DISMISS the encounter doesn't last: when the officers press him (verse 12 — 'tell us now'), he reveals the anointing, and they IMMEDIATELY spread their garments under him on the steps and proclaim him king (verse 13). The 'madman's' message transforms from joke to revolution in SECONDS. What was dismissed as insanity becomes the basis for a coup. The communication that was laughed at restructures the entire kingdom.

The SPEED of the transition is remarkable: from 'you know the madman and his babbling' to 'JEHU IS KING' happens within verses. The commission that was privately given and publicly mocked becomes the commission that is publicly enacted. The momentum shifts from mockery to monarchy without any gradual transition.

The 'ye know the man and his communication' is Jehu testing the waters: before revealing his anointing, he gauges how the officers feel about prophets. Their mockery tells him something — they dismiss prophetic authority. But their RESPONSE to the anointing (verse 13) tells him something else — they're ready for regime change regardless of the source. The political readiness predated the prophetic commission.

What divine commission in your life has been dismissed as madness — and what would happen if you revealed it?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture