Time to Clean House

And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 2 Kings 9:7-8

It’s mid-January, which means we’re through the holidays once again. I do love that time between Thanksgiving and New Years, which is when the house is decorated for Christmas. It always makes me a little sad then when Christmas is over, because I know all the Christmas decorations are coming down. Honestly, I’d probably leave the tree up until spring, but my wife has far more sense than that. As the new year approaches, it’s time to clean house. She just cannot imagine starting off a year with all the old decorations still up. For the new to come, the old must go, which means we must clean house.

For transformation to occur, and for the new to come, the old must be removed. That is the lesson of today’s passage. In it, the prophet Elisha spoke with God’s voice when he orchestrated the anointing of Jehu as the new king of Israel. Israel already had a king though, one who worshipped idols. One of Jehu’s first acts as king then, was to clean house, ridding Israel of all those in power who’d worshipped false gods. For the new to come, the old had to go.

This is a good illustration of what often needs to happen early in recovery. I’ll often meet those who want to get sober, but who can’t quite let go of the paraphernalia required for drug use. What if I need it? They want to new life, but they can’t leave behind the old. For the new to come, the old must go.

 So, the question for us, is – If we’re seeking change, what needs to go? If we’re struggling with pornography, we may have to surrender access to it. If we’re struggling with overeating, we may have to get some unhealthy foods out of our home. For the new to come, the old must go. If we desire change, it’s time to clean house.