The Destruction Continues: Elijah had prophesied that the LORD would consume Ahab’s descendants and cut off from him every last male in Israel (1 Kgs. 21:21; cf. the previous prophecies against Jeroboam and Baasha in 1 Kgs. 14:10; 16:3). It comes as little surprise, in view of the literal fulfillment of such prophecy in 1 Kings 15:29 and 16:11–12, to find that Jehu is not content with the deaths of Jehoram and Jezebel but now looks to wipe out Ahab’s family in toto (2 Kgs. 10:1–17). Nor is it any surprise to find him taking decisive action against the worship of Baal (10:18–28), for it is towards final victory over Baal-worship that 1 Kings 19:15–18 points in naming Jehu (along with Hazael; cf. 2 Kgs. 10:32–33) as the LORD’s instrument of judgment. What continues to puzzle, however, is the…