2Ch 24:20-21 | KingComments | STEP | Before God actually makes them feel His wrath, which rests on them, He first sends them prophets in His grace ( ; cf. ). Through His prophets He wants to call them to return to Him. They warn of the consequences if the people persist in their deviation from Him. Unfortunately, Joash doesn’t listen. One of the prophets is specially mentioned ( ). It is Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada. Zechariah is going to stand on an elevation to be better heard by the people (cf. ). That is why he also stands as a loner against the people. He is a true Antipas – meaning ‘against all’ –, who also testified as a loner and just like Zechariah had to pay with his life for his testimony ( ). Zechariah presents to the people their sins without fuss. He tells them that their idolatry will not bring them the prosperity they expect. Their actions have no blessing because they have forsaken the LORD and He has had to forsake them. They are now on their way without Him. So how could there be prosperity for them? Joash even gives the command to kill the man who brings him the words of God with stones ( ; ). Here a holy man (a priest and prophet) is killed in a holy place (the temple) with a holy message (a word of God) as if he were a blasphemer. How far have the king and his people deviated from the LORD. Joash places himself in line with the wicked Ahab who also had a righteous man, Naboth, stoned ( ). Zechariah is stoned in the court of the house of the LORD to which Joash has been so dedicated the first part of his reign. The place of worship is smeared with blood. God’s Spirit clearly indicates that this stoning is not only a crime but also an act of the greatest ingratitude ( ; cf. ). The favor that Zechariah’s father, Jehoiada, has bestowed on him is gone from his memory. If we forget to be thankful for all that the Lord has given us in our brothers and sisters, we may become their murderers spiritually if they point out our failures. Ungratefulness is one of the characteristics of the last days, that is the time in which we live ( ). It is a time when the Word of God is ignored by many. When Zechariah dies, he calls that the LORD will avenge ( ). This call for revenge fits the Old Testament. This call will also sound after the rapture of the church ( ). In our time the believer fits a call for grace and forgiveness for his persecutors and those who torture them ( ). In His speech against the Pharisees, the Lord Jesus refers to the murder of Zechariah ( ; ). In that speech, He mentions the first and last murder of believers in the Old Testament as the beginning and the end of a long series of bloodshed of the righteous. The first murder is that of Abel, the last one is that of Zechariah. It is true that Zechariah is the last believer to be murdered in the Old Testament. We must remember that the book of the Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible is the last book of the Bible and not, as in our Bibles, the book of Malachi.

‏ 2 Chronicles 24:20-21

Joash Kills the Prophet of God

Before God actually makes them feel His wrath, which rests on them, He first sends them prophets in His grace (2Chr 24:19; cf. Jer 7:25). Through His prophets He wants to call them to return to Him. They warn of the consequences if the people persist in their deviation from Him. Unfortunately, Joash doesn’t listen.

One of the prophets is specially mentioned (2Chr 24:20). It is Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada. Zechariah is going to stand on an elevation to be better heard by the people (cf. Neh 8:5). That is why he also stands as a loner against the people. He is a true Antipas – meaning ‘against all’ –, who also testified as a loner and just like Zechariah had to pay with his life for his testimony (Rev 2:13).

Zechariah presents to the people their sins without fuss. He tells them that their idolatry will not bring them the prosperity they expect. Their actions have no blessing because they have forsaken the LORD and He has had to forsake them. They are now on their way without Him. So how could there be prosperity for them?

Joash even gives the command to kill the man who brings him the words of God with stones (2Chr 24:21; Heb 11:37). Here a holy man (a priest and prophet) is killed in a holy place (the temple) with a holy message (a word of God) as if he were a blasphemer. How far have the king and his people deviated from the LORD.

Joash places himself in line with the wicked Ahab who also had a righteous man, Naboth, stoned (1Kgs 21:8-13). Zechariah is stoned in the court of the house of the LORD to which Joash has been so dedicated the first part of his reign. The place of worship is smeared with blood.

God’s Spirit clearly indicates that this stoning is not only a crime but also an act of the greatest ingratitude (2Chr 24:22a; cf. Jdg 8:35). The favor that Zechariah’s father, Jehoiada, has bestowed on him is gone from his memory.

If we forget to be thankful for all that the Lord has given us in our brothers and sisters, we may become their murderers spiritually if they point out our failures. Ungratefulness is one of the characteristics of the last days, that is the time in which we live (2Tim 3:1-3). It is a time when the Word of God is ignored by many.

When Zechariah dies, he calls that the LORD will avenge (2Chr 24:22b). This call for revenge fits the Old Testament. This call will also sound after the rapture of the church (Rev 6:9-11). In our time the believer fits a call for grace and forgiveness for his persecutors and those who torture them (Acts 7:59-60).

In His speech against the Pharisees, the Lord Jesus refers to the murder of Zechariah (Mt 23:34-35; Lk 11:51). In that speech, He mentions the first and last murder of believers in the Old Testament as the beginning and the end of a long series of bloodshed of the righteous. The first murder is that of Abel, the last one is that of Zechariah. It is true that Zechariah is the last believer to be murdered in the Old Testament. We must remember that the book of the Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible is the last book of the Bible and not, as in our Bibles, the book of Malachi.