מלכים ב, פרק י׳, פסוק כ״ט

Even after leading a sweeping religious revolution to eradicate Baal worship, Jehu left the core spiritual flaw of the Kingdom of Israel completely intact. He refused to return to the proper worship of God in the Temple in Jerusalem. Instead, he continued to cling to the original sins introduced by Jeroboam, maintaining the worship of the golden calves [מצודת דוד].

His decision to preserve these sites of worship was driven entirely by political calculation. Much like Jeroboam before him, Jehu was consumed by the fear that if the people traveled to Jerusalem to worship, the kingdom would eventually reunite under the rule of the House of David [רש״י]. From a conceptual standpoint, Jehu's behavior aligned with the kings of Israel who ruled prior to Ahab. These leaders did not consider themselves to be idolaters. Rather, they viewed themselves as a legitimate group worshipping God, believing they were simply conducting His service in an alternative location [ביאור שטיינזלץ].