22. ZECHARIAH
ZECHARIAH
"Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria, six months. And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, according as his fathers had done.Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, and smote him before the people.This was the word of Jehovah.to Jehu saying, Thy sons shall sit upon the throne of Israel unto the fourth generation. And so it came to pass."
Comparing the accounts of the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah at this point in history we find an apparent gap of about 11 years between the end of Jeroboam II’s reign and the start of his son Zechariah’s reign. These were turbulent times in Israel. Scripture does not give us details about all that happened then. It does show us that despite all that may happen in political affairs to earthly rulers, God is in ultimate control, and He keeps His promises. Zechariah, Jehu’s great-great-grandson, comes to the throne and reigns for six months.
What kind of a king was he? Scripture tells us three things:
(1) He did evil in the sight of Jehovah;
(2) according as his fathers had done;
(3) he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin (v. 9).
God’s eye is on us:
(1) He assesses whether we are doing good or evil, right or wrong. (2) Others may previously have done what we are now doing. This is no excuse for us to do the same. We need not follow their bad pattern.
(3) Such patterns can often be traced far back. God’s Word traces our sin all the way back to Adam. And sin does not become better or more acceptable to God as it grows older. It is just as repugnant to God as when it began.
Zechariah did not use the time allotted him to repent! His time was soon up. After six months he was openly assassinated "before the people," by Shallum who had "conspired against him."