Thus Jehu
destroyed Baal out of Israel. Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam, the son
of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit,
the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan. And the Lord said
unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which was
right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that
was in mine heart; thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on
the throne of Israel (II Kings 10:28-30).
COMMON GRACE ARGUMENT:
This passage
sometimes has been appealed to as proof for a form of common grace which says
that, through a “gracious, inward operation of the Holy Spirit,” sin if
restrained in the unregenerate, and, by this same operation, they are enabled
to do good works in the sphere of things natural and civil, works that are
pleasing in the sight of God.
The argument
with this passage is that when Jehu is said to have “done well,” and that he
did “that which was right” in God’s eyes, it means that he (a reprobate) done a
“good deed” in the sight of God, worthy of His commendation and approval.
(I)
Prof. Herman
C. Hanko
[Source: Common
Grace Considered (2019 edition),
pp. 268, 269]
It is true, of course,
that the [text says] that Jehu … did good.
But that this is proof for “good influences of the Holy Spirit upon the hearts
of wicked men, so that they do good in the sight of God” is quite another
matter, and there is no mention of any such thing in the text. Jehu “did good”
in destroying the whole house of Ahab. It was God’s will that Ahab and his
house be destroyed because of its great wickedness. Jehu was God’s appointed
means to accomplish this destruction. But Jehu was glad to do it, for he revelled in killing and was sure to secure
his throne by destroying any threat from Ahab’s family.
[…]
No one has ever denied
that wicked and unregenerate men are able to “do good” in a certain sense of
the word. Mozart can compose very beautiful music, though he was a wicked man.
An architect can design a beautiful building, but not do so in a way pleasing
to God and bringing God’s approval upon his good works. A carpenter can and
often does build a house that has few, if any, defects, because he is an
excellent builder; and we say, “He did a good job of this house.” I recall one
noted theologian who said that Tiger Woods’ ability to sink a 40-foot putt was
surely due to “common grace.” And so we can go on. It happens all the time in
the world that men “do good” from a purely earthly
viewpoint. But this is still a far cry from “moral good that the Spirit enables
wicked men to do”; and it is a far cry from good that meets with God’s approval. The [text] quoted [is]
entirely [besides] the point and have no bearing on the matter at hand.
-----------------------------------------------------
(II)
Herman
Hoeksema (1886-1965)
(a)
[Source: The
Protestant Reformed Churches in America (1947), pp. 401-403]
2. Does
the example of Jehu prove that the natural man, through an influence of the
Holy Spirit upon him, receives grace through which he is able to do good?
On the
contrary, there is no mention in the text of an operation of the Holy Spirit
upon Jehu at all. Nor was any amelioration or restraint of Jehu’s wickedness
necessary to the performance of his deed.
3. But
does not the Lord approve of him as having “done well”?
Certainly: but
this does not concern the point at issue at all. The wicked can do many things
well, because of natural talent and ability, while at the same time, and with
respect to the same things, they sin. This is so self-evident that the very
simple can readily understand it. A man may be an able business man, so that he
handles all his affairs well, and yet he may make all his business subservient
to sin. He does well, yet he sins. An able engineer may invent an almost
perfect mechanism, and in doing so he certainly does well, yet he may employ
all his talents to enhance his own glory or for some other sinful purpose, so
that he also sins while he does well. It is even possible that a man may lead a
clean moral life to a certain extent and keep himself from gross outward sins,
merely because he knows that a life of corruption leads him to premature
destruction. For all this, no ameliorating influence of the Holy Spirit is
necessary. A person may perform well a certain piece of work and yet sin. This
explains exactly the story of Jehu. It is evident that he was a wicked man. For
the honor and service of Jehovah he cared not, for he followed after the sins
of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. This is emphasized in
the text. Both before and after the statement that he did well, it is said that
he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam. From this it ought to be
evident that he was not actuated by the love of Jehovah in
whatever he did well. In the second place, it is also evident that Jehu was an
able man, quick to see a situation and to act accordingly, undaunted in battle,
thorough in all his work. And the narrative shows that he was ambitious. In the
third place, it is more than evident that in the command of the Lord to
extinguish the house of Ahab, Jehu perceived a means to his own advancement
and aggrandizement, a way to ascend the throne of Israel. From this ambition as
a motive, you can explain all that Jehu did. What he did he certainly did
well. He completely extinguished the house of Ahab. And yet, while he did
it, he sinned. This is, first of all, evident from the repeated
statement that he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which
proved beyond any doubt that the love of God was not his motive. This is
proven, in the second place, from Hosea 1:4: “And the Lord said unto him, Call
his name Jezreel, for yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel
upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of
Israel.” For the very thing, then, which Jehu did so well, but did wickedly, he
was punished as a matter of blood-guiltiness. He received a reward, indeed. And
the reward was entirely in accord with the work he had done so well. In four
generations he would sit on the throne of Israel. But it was the reward of
the wicked, leading him more quickly to destruction. It will, then,
be evident that Jehu’s example does not prove the point that the wicked can do
good through an influence of God on them.
(b)
What about
Jehu? Does the text from II Kings, quoted above, prove that Jehu, under the
influence of the Holy Spirit (Point II), received grace (common grace is, after
all, grace) by which he ‘could do’ good?
This, after
all, is the question. It is not the question whether Jehu was an able general,
or whether he was zealous in the accomplishment of the task assigned to him.
All this may readily be granted. Also today the natural man is often very able
and ambitious. But the question is whether he did good in the
moral, ethical sense of the word. That is a question of motive. And motive is a
matter of the inner man, of the mind, of the will, of the heart.
The Christian
Reformed Synod, in the Third Point makes a distinction between saving good and
civil good. Let that be as it may, although I do not want to subscribe to the
distinction. Any act of man is either good or evil, i.e., in the moral or
ethical sense of the word.
Good is an act
when it is motivated by the love of God and of men; evil an act when in its
deepest root it is motivated by hatred of God and our fellow men. There is
nothing else. There can be nothing else. Now, according to the Synod of
Kalamazoo, 1924, the unregenerate man can do what is called civil good.
Hence, the Synod maintains that a man that is not motivated by the love of God
and of the neighbor, who, in fact, in his deepest heart is motivated by enmity
against God and against the neighbor, can do good. You may call it natural or
civil good, to me that makes no difference—it is not sin but good, in the moral
and ethical sense of the word.
This I, and
all Protestant Reformed people, deny.
To me, and to
all of our people, an act of man is either good or it is sin.
But what,
then, about Jehu?
Did not God
Himself say that Jehu did well in executing that which was right in the sight
of God?
Concerning
this I make the following remarks:
1. Jehu was,
according to Scripture, a wicked man. Before and after the statement that he
had done well in executing that which the Lord had commanded him, we read that
“from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu
departed not from after them, to wit the golden calves that were in Bethel and
that were in Dan.” Is it possible, then, that he could do anything good in the
moral, ethical sense of the word? The answer to this question is and must be
negative.
2. It is
evident that Jehu was a very able man. As a soldier and general, he was
courageous and undaunted in battle. He was thorough in all his work.
3. It is very
evident from the entire narrative that Jehu saw in the command of God to
extinguish the house of Ahab a golden opportunity to further his own cause,
namely, that he might occupy the throne of Israel. That was Jehu’s sole
ambition. And that was also the motive for all that he did. His motive was not
and could not be the love of God. O yes, he did well. Perhaps, we may say that
he belonged to those men that are mentioned in Matthew 7: “Many will say to me
in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name
have cast out devils? and in thy name have done many wonderful works?” No
doubt, they did all these things. Jehu did the same things; he also did
wonderful works. But what did the Lord say to them? He answered: “I never knew
you: Depart from me, ye that work in iniquity.”
4. Moreover,
for the very thing which Jehu did so well he was punished. For thus we read in
Hosea 1:4: “And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little
while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will
cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.” Indeed, Jehu did very well
in destroying the house of Ahab, but in doing so he was not motivated by the
fear of the Lord, but his own wicked ambition. Hence, in doing well he sinned.
Hence, the
text does not sustain the doctrine of the third point that the natural man is
able to do good, civil or otherwise.
(c)
First, synod
discovered in Scripture three examples of men who were unregenerated and of
whom Scripture declares that they did what was right in the sight of the Lord.
One of these examples include Jehu, the general who became king of Israel.
The good Jehu
did was to exterminate the entire house of Ahab, as God had commanded him.
Scripture says that he did well in executing that commandment. At the same time
we read that Jehu did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam and did not walk and
took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord with all his heart (II Kings
10:29–30). His extermination of the house of Ahab is later reckoned as blood
guiltiness that will be avenged on the house of Jehu (Hosea 1:4).
Did Jehu
perform any moral or ethical good before the Lord by exterminating Ahab’s
house? Did he perform moral or ethical good under an influence of the Holy
Spirit? Was his sinful nature somewhat reformed or improved before he could
begin exterminating Ahab’s house? The contrary is true. Jehu did not care about
Jehovah and his service. That he did not depart from the ways and sins of
Jeroboam makes this clear.
His motive for
executing God’s command to exterminate Ahab’s house was radically different.
Jehu was ambitious. Love of power and glory and a desire for distinction and
superiority controlled him. The command of Jehovah to destroy the house of Ahab
was the way to realize his ambition. The hope of the royal crown inspired him,
and Jehu’s natural ability matched his ambition. Hence we need not be surprised
that he did well in thoroughly and quickly executing the command of the Lord.
But there was no positive ethical value in his command work. No matter how well
he executed Jehovah’s word, his work was ethically sinful; it was rooted in
self-love and aimed at his own glory and the realization of his ambitions. A
special operation of the Holy Spirit in Jehu’s heart to restrain sin certainly
was wholly unnecessary for that purpose, and Scripture does not speak of it
even with a word.
(d)
[How is it] possible that the Lord can judge that Jehu was a
wicked man who lived wickedly and, at the same time, that he did well and right
in the sight of the Lord.
The answer is simple.
Jehu did neither spiritually nor morally nor ethically well and
right, but he did well in executing the command of the Lord in extinguishing
the house of Ahab and, too, not for the Lord’s sake but for his own. Jehu had
many talents and great ability. He was an able leader and general and, besides,
he was very zealous, not for the Lord but for himself. He, therefore, saw in
the command of the Lord an opportunity for his own exaltation. Many a wicked
man has talents and ability which he uses in the service of sin. A man may be a
good business man, so that he handles all his affairs well. In that case, not
only we, but also the Lord judges that he does well and right. But he may,
nevertheless, care only for his own advancement and nothing for the Lord. In that
case, he sins while doing well. A man may be a good mechanic and even invent a
new machine. Again, in that case, the Lord, as well as his fellowman, judges
that he does well. But if he employs all his talents and powers for his own
glory or for some other sinful purpose, he sins while doing well. For all this,
no restraint or improving influence of the Holy Spirit is necessary at
all.
This fits
exactly the case of Jehu. He was, evidently, a wicked man, who cared not for
Jehovah or His precepts. This, as we said before, is emphasized in the text.
Moreover, he was also a very able man, a man that was fit to execute the
command of the Lord concerning the house of Ahab. What he did, he accomplished
quite thoroughly. But although, in this respect he did extremely well, yet in
all this he sinned. That this is true is evident from the text itself which
mentions that he did not depart from the sin of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who
made Israel to sin. But this is also clearly proved by the statement in Hosea 1:4: “And the Lord said unto him, Call his name
Jezreel, for yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the
house of Jehu, and I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.”
In other words, for the very thing which Jehu did well, he was punished as a
matter of blood guiltiness.
-----------------------------------------------------
(III)
Ronald Hanko
& Ronald Cammenga
The argument
is that Jehu, though he himself was a wicked man, was nevertheless able to do
good by doing what God had commanded when he destroyed the whole family of
wicked Ahab. It is very clear, however, that Jehu did not do this out of love
for God, for he himself re-established the worship of the golden calves, which
Jeroboam had originally set up to keep the people from the worship of God in
Jerusalem (I Kings 12:26-30). Instead, he did what God commanded only for
himself and to secure the kingdom for himself. The Bible teaches us that
whatever is not done for the glory of God, even though it be what God commands,
is neither obedience nor good in the sight of God (Matt. 22:37, 38; Matt.
23:25-28; Rom. 14:23; I Cor. 10:31).
-----------------------------------------------------
(IV)
Westminster
Confession of Faith (1647)
Works done by unregenerate
men, although for the matter of them they may be things which God commands; and
of good use both to themselves and others: yet, because they proceed not from
an heart purified by faith; nor are done in a right manner, according to the
Word; nor to a right end, the glory of God, they are therefore sinful
and cannot please God, or make a man meet to receive grace from God: and
yet, their neglect of them is more sinful and displeasing unto God (16:7).
-----------------------------------------------------
(V)
Heidelberg
Catechism (1563)
Q. 8. Are we
then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to
all wickedness?
A. Indeed we
are, except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God.
Q. 91. But
what are good works?
A. Only those
which proceed from a true faith, are performed according to the law of God, and
to His glory; and not such as are founded on our imaginations or the
institutions of men.
--------------------------------------------
(VI)
More to come!
(DV)
NB: Check out
also the online pamphlet, “The Curse-Reward of the
Wicked Well-Doer” by Herman Hoeksema.
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