Through the prophet Elijah the Lord had foretold the utter downfall of Ahab and his house (1 Kings 21:19, 21, 29). Jehu was setting himself forth as the executioner of the decrees of God. So indeed he was. But the record reveals that he was also selfish, impetuous, unfeeling, and cruel. The fact that Jehu was used of Heaven for a special mission places no sanction upon all the deeds of his life. For his act of executing judgment upon the house of Ahab he received divine commendation (2 Kings 10:30).