In this episode, Rabbi Reinman describes Yehu’s eradication of Baal worship and the eventual collapse and dissolution of Malchus Yisrael.
Chapter Thirty-Two: The Ten Lost Tribes
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How far did Baal worship extend in the Kingdom of Yisrael when Yehu arrived on the scene, and how deep did it go? A close reading of the pesukim provides the answer.
When Hashem sent Eliahu on his mission, we read, “And Hashem said to him, ‘Go, retrace your steps to the Damascus desert, and when you come, you shall anoint Chazael as king over Aram. And you shall anoint Yehu ben Nimshi as king over Yisrael, and you shall appoint Elisha ben Shafat of Aveil-mecholah to be your successor as a prophet. And it will be that Yehu will kill those who escape the sword of Chazael, and Elisha will kill those who escape the sword of Yehu. And I will allow to survive seven thousand in Israel, all those who did not bend their knee to the Baal, and all the mouths that did not kiss it.’”[1] Hashem promised to protect these seven thousand from the attacks by Chazael and the Arameans. It would seem from these verses that almost all the people of Israel, except for these seven thousand, had become Baal worshippers.
The long story continues. Eliahu appoints Chazael and Elisha, and then he passes away. Elisha secretly appoints Yehu as king and tells him he must destroy the House of Achav and eradicate the Baal worshippers. Yehu mobilizes his followers and prepares to fulfill his mission.
And then we read, “Yehu called together all the people, and he said to them, ‘Achav served the Baal a little bit, but Yehu will serve him a lot. And now, call to me all the prophets of the Baal, all who serve him and all his priests. Not a man shall be missing, for I am about to offer a great sacrifice to the Baal. Whoever fails to appear shall not live.’ Yehu did this as a ruse in order to destroy the Baal worshippers. And Yehu said, ‘Proclaim an assembly for the Baal,’ and they proclaimed it.
“Yehu sent summonses throughout Israel, and all the Baal worshippers came. There was not a man who failed to appear … and Yehu stationed eighty men outside, and he instructed them, ‘If any of the men I deliver into your hands escapes, you will pay for it with your lives.’ And when they finished making their burnt-offerings, Yehu instructed the soldiers and the captains, ‘Come and attack them. Not a man shall be allowed to leave.’
“They attacked them with swords. The soldiers and captains struck them down … They levelled the temple of the Baal and made it into a latrine until this day. And thus, Yehu eradicated the Baal from Israel.”[2]
So how many Baal worshippers were there in Israel? Apparently, they all fit into the temple of the Baal. Let us even say that the temple was a massive stadium. Let us even say that tens of thousands fit into it. Let us say, conservatively that the population of Malchus Yisrael was several hundred thousand people. If you subtract the seven thousand allowed to survive, there were still too many to fit into even the largest temple.
These two conflicting sets of verses provide a snapshot of the situation in the Kingdom of Israel. It would seem that there were at most several tens of thousands of actual Baal worshippers. But there were only seven thousand who did not bend a knee to the Baal, who rejected the Baal cult totally.
In other words, they made no compromises or acknowledgments of the pagan cult the House of Achav had brought into the kingdom. They did not close their stores on pagan holidays. They did not schedule their vacations during the pagan festivities. They did not wish their pagan neighbors a happy holiday. They did not attend pagan parties and celebrations. They did not allow the pagan cult to have any effect on the rhythms of their lives. God said that these seven thousand people would not suffer during the attacks by King Chazael and the Arameans.
The rest of the population, although only a minority of them were actual Baal worshippers, did bend their knees to the Baal. They did allow the Baal cult to influence their lives. But only the thousands of actual Baal worshippers were packed into the temple of the Baal and slaughtered by Yehu’s men. Once they were gone, the Baal cult was no longer a factor in the kingdom, and life returned to normal …
Read full chapter and earlier chapters at www.rabbireinman.com.
[1] I Kings 19:16-18.
[2] II Kings 10:18-28.
