EPISODE 1: The Oil and the Omen
2 Kings 9:1–13
Dogs, prophets, and a madman’s curse.
You didn’t hear this in Sunday school.
No shepherds. No psalms. No mercy.
This is the story of a military commander, an unhinged queen, and a prophecy soaked in blood.
It began during a siege—outside the city of Ramoth-Gilead—while Israel’s army tried to reclaim it from their enemies, the Arameans. The battle had been brutal. King Joram was wounded and sent back to Jezreel to heal. His men were still camped near the city walls, waiting for orders that weren’t coming.
Then a boy arrived.
He looked like a servant. Maybe sixteen. But he carried a sealed clay flask—the kind only prophets used—and his eyes burned with urgency.
He pointed straight at one man.
“You. Come with me.”
The room went quiet.
That man was Jehu, commander of the army. Known for his speed, his violence, and his loyalty to the throne.
Until now.
The two disappeared into a side room. The boy closed the door behind them and spoke quickly, his voice shaking.
“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:
I anoint you king over Israel.
You will strike down the house of Ahab.
I will avenge the blood of My prophets—
and of Naboth, the innocent man Jezebel had killed for his vineyard.
Every son, every servant, every ally of Ahab must die.
And Jezebel… dogs will eat her by the wall of Jezreel.”
The boy broke the flask. The oil ran down Jehu’s face.
Then he ran—just as the prophet Elisha had commanded.
Jehu stood still.
He remembered the story. Years earlier, King Ahab had tried to buy a vineyard from a man named Naboth. When Naboth refused, Queen Jezebel framed him for blasphemy and had him stoned to death. Then she gave the vineyard to Ahab.
That’s when the prophet Elijah appeared and declared a curse:
“In the place where dogs licked Naboth’s blood, they will lick yours too.”
Ahab was terrified. He repented. And God delayed the punishment.
But not forever.
The curse would fall on Ahab’s family.
Now Jehu understood—he wasn’t chosen to lead.
He was chosen to execute.
He stepped back into the room. The soldiers stared at the oil on his face.
“What did that madman say to you?” one of them asked.
Jehu answered flatly:
“He anointed me king.”
Silence.
Then one soldier removed his cloak and threw it onto the steps. Another followed. They laid their garments down—an ancient sign of submission.
The trumpet blew.
“Jehu is king!” they shouted.
But Jehu wasn’t smiling.
He saw blood in the dirt. He saw Jezebel’s painted face. He heard Elijah’s curse like thunder in his mind.
And he knew:
This wasn’t a coronation.
It was a warning.
The time for mercy had ended.
And somewhere beyond the walls… the dogs were already waiting.
