Jehu, the king of Israel, said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord!” Wow, this guy was so fired up about doing great things for God! He got rid of all of King Ahab’s idol-worshipping family, he removed all of the court officials who supported Ahab, and he even cleared all of the priests of Baal out of Israel.
God was so pleased with Jehu and his zeal for holiness that God said, “Well done! Because of what you have done, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel for the next four generations.”
What a God-fearing man Jehu was! How on fire for God!
Unfortunately, Jehu’s passion fizzled.
Aristotle famously said, “Well begun is only half done.” Jehu started well, but his zeal for God fizzled in the end.
In fact, the very next verse after God says, “Well done!” begins with a very telling word: Yet.
Jehu didn’t continue his walk with God. He began to fall away, and so the Bible adds this sad note: In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel. Yes, Jehu and his descendants still sat on the throne, but Israel became smaller and smaller.
I want to start well and finish strong.
I don’t want to hear God say, “Well begun.” I want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
I don’t want to be “king” of a smaller and smaller sphere of influence.
I don’t want to fizzle—I want to keep on burning bright for God!
Craig T. Owens 