Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Why Prophecy Matters | Historical Books | 2 Kings 9:14-29

Episode Date: October 15, 2025

What is prophecy? Do you have doubts about spiritual realities? Do you trust the word of the Lord? In today's episode, Jensen shares how 2 Kings 9:14-29 encourages us to root our lives in the truth of God's word. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 2 Kings 9:14-29

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. When you think about prophecies, what comes to mind? Maybe you think of the backlash against childhood books like Harry Potter for including divination, prophecy, and magic. Maybe you think of street preachers on the corner prophesying the end of the world. Maybe you think of cult leaders or online bloggers. Whatever you think, if you're anything like me, I'd guess that your beliefs hold a bit of skepticism in them.

You see, the logical nature of the Western world, the self-deterministic nature of our time, leads most people to focus on the material world in front of them and to hold a certain belief that they're in control of their destiny. And this worldview often casts doubt on or disregards entirely the immaterial, the spiritual, the divine. It makes things tricky for Christians who believe in the divine, but swim in the waters of the West.

We often come to a mixed bag of beliefs surrounding things in the Bible that seem too immaterial, too implausible, maybe too spiritual. Like we believe in God, we go to church, we read our Bible, pray, try to be good people, dot our eyes, cross our teas, but we often lack a certain recognition

of the spiritual powers of God at work in our world. We sometimes doubt the miraculous. We question healing, we second-guess stories of God at work in powerful ways. And at times for good reason, there are many who try to use these sorts of stories to manipulate and control people. But oftentimes, we can let our skepticism keep us

from believing in the power of God. Today's passage from 2nd Kings 9 makes us face the reality of the prophetic word of God. In it, we have Jehu, the commander of Israel's armies, who has just been anointed king by Elisha in fulfillment of a prophecy of God. And in our passage, we see him set out to confront Joram, the current king of Israel, and Ahaziah, the king of Judah. So what we need to know for context is that Joram is a son of Ahab,

a king who was incredibly evil, who the Lord has already prophesied, would be killed and his line cut off. Ahezaiah, the king of Judah, has joyous. joined the house of Ahab through marriage. So both of these kings of Israel and of Judah are tied to the line of Ahab as they ride out to meet Jehu, not knowing that he has just been anointed king. And here's how their interaction goes. Joram, King of Israel and A. Hesiah, King of Judah, rode out, each in his own chariot to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth, the Jesreelite.

When Joram saw Jahou, he asked, have you come in peace, Jahou? How can there be peace, Jahou replied, as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound. Joram turned and fled, calling out to E. Hesiah, treachery, E Hesiah. Then Jahue drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. Jahou said to Bidcar, his chariot officer, pick him up and throw him on. the field that belonged to Naboth the Jesraelite. Remember how you and I were writing together in chariots behind Ahab his father when the Lord spoke this prophecy against him. Yesterday I saw the blood of Nabath

and the blood of his sons declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the Lord. Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot in accordance with the word of the Lord. When Ahaziah King of Judah saw what had happened, he fled up the road, to Beth Hagan. Jayhu chased him shouting, kill him too. And we continue reading that he does kill him. In their confrontation, Jayhu makes it clear that he is not here for peace. He has come to execute judgment on the house of Ahab as the Lord has prophesied and commanded. And he does. He kills Joram and leaves his body in a field in accordance to a prophecy that Jayhu heard the Lord give to Ahab when he was alive. He then pursues Ahaziah as well and kills him too. So the prophecy of the Lord comes to pass

in multiple ways in this passage. Jahou is anointed king in accordance to a prophecy. He enacts judgment in accordance to a prophecy. Ahab's line is dying out in accordance to prophecy. And you'll notice that Jahou specifically places the body of Joram in a specific field because of a prophecy of the Lord that he had heard. Jahou takes the prophetic word of the Lord. seriously, and he allows it to shape his actions, his life. I wonder if maybe we shouldn't be more like Jahu. But it can be hard. Jayhu has prophets of God like Elisha speaking directly to him, delivering the word of God before him. He has clarity in the prophecies that he hears. In our world of internet influencers, street preachers, and end-of-time predictors, how can we know what is true

prophecy. What should we trust? Second Timothy 3, 16, and 17 tells us that all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. If we want to know what prophecy of the Lord to trust, we need to look to his word. Scripture reminds us that the promises and the prophecies of God all come true. It happens here in First King's nine. It happens when prophets come to prophesy about the Messiah, the one who would fulfill the prophetic word of the Lord that David's throne would never end, and that Jesus, the son of God, the descendant of David, is that king. The king who would reign forever, who would establish his kingdom

that would never end. The prophetic word of the Lord came true. So what promises, what prophecies can we put our trust in? Can we shape our lives around? Can we put our hope in? Well, it's the promises and prophecies that we find in Scripture. And none are as all-encompassing, as life-changing, as the prophetic visions that are given to John in the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation gives us a picture of what is to come when Jesus returns to earth and establishes the kingdom that was promised through prophecy all those years ago. We're given seven visions of his triumph over evil, seven vantage points of what's to come, to reiterate and establish confidence that God's prophetic word will come to light.

Now, Revelation 19 is one of these visions, and it gives us a beautiful picture of Jesus's triumphant return and defeat over evil. I saw heaven standing open, and there before me was a white horse whose writer is called faithful and true. With justice, he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He's dressed in a robe dipped in blood and his name is the word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. On his robe and on his thigh, he has this name written, king of kings and Lord of Lords. Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together

to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with a sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. Just as Jehu set out with his armies, as an anointed king, an enacted judgment on the evil kings in accordance with the prophetic word of God, so too one day will Jesus, a true and true and,

and better king ride out and conquer not just one evil king, but the evil one, in accordance with the prophetic word of God. We will see that Jehu established his kingdom much in the way of the kings before him, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. But in Revelation, we see the prophecies of Jesus, establishing his kingdom, a kingdom that in accordance with the word of the Lord would endure forever. Revelation 21, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven, the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, look, God's dwelling places now among the people and he will dwell with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from the world. He will wipe every tear from. He will be God. He will wipe every tear from. He. He will be in the world. He will be heaven. He will be God. He will be His life. He will be His life. He will be His life. He will. He will their eyes, there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new. Then he said, write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. These words are

trustworthy and true. Jesus is coming back again. He will defeat Satan and all evil, once and for all and establish his kingdom forever. This future is certain, more certain than anything in your life. Do you live like this is true? Do you shape your days, your actions, your loves, your time, your priorities after it? The prophetic word of the Lord will find its fulfillment. Don't let the climate of our time keep you from recognizing the larger story that's going on. Don't be blinded by the material world. in front of you, so caught up in schedules and bank accounts and careers and politics and iPhones, so convinced that reality is just what you can see before you that you miss out on living

and step with the true story, the true reality that is unfolding through the prophetic word of God. Join with God in his mission to overcome evil and establish his kingdom here on earth. Live like Jesus is returning. Live like his kingdom is real. Live like you trust. the word of the Lord because it is trustworthy and true. When we grasp the reality of His kingdom, when we live in light of that truth, our lives will change. Our priorities will shift. And we will see God's power, His Word, and His kingdom come to fruition through our lives.