מלכים ב, פרק י׳, פסוק כ״ח

Jehu’s actions brought about the total destruction of Baal worship within the kingdom of Israel. This removal was absolute. While the prophet Elijah had previously targeted only the priests of Baal, Jehu took a much broader approach. He gathered every believer and anyone associated with the practice into a single location, entirely wiping out the cult [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

However, even though these actions were performed for the sake of God, Jehu's religious reform had strict limits. He successfully eliminated the worship of Baal, but he did not remove the golden calves that Jeroboam had previously established. The choice to leave these calves intact was not driven by a desire to practice idolatry, as the calves were never originally intended for that purpose. Instead, the motivation was entirely political. Jehu needed to protect the stability of his new government. He feared that if his subjects traveled to Jerusalem to worship, their political loyalty might revert to the House of David. Because of this, while maintaining the calves was a severe sin, it was not considered a sin of actual idol worship [אברבנאל].

Because Jehu did what was right in the eyes of God by destroying the House of Ahab, he received a reward that directly mirrored the history of the kings he had overthrown. The previous dynasty of Omri had ruled for four generations, spanning Omri, Ahab, Ahaziah, and Jehoram. In return for his obedience, God sent a promise through the prophet Jonah son of Amittai. He assured Jehu that four generations of his own descendants—Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam, and Zechariah—would securely sit on the throne of Israel [אברבנאל].