Evil King of Israel
We find many men throughout Scripture named Zechariah. The Bible may have more Zechariahs in it than any other name.
With many obscure mentions throughout the Bible—fifty-nine times in nine books—it’s impossible to determine accurately how many there are, but there are perhaps as many as twenty-two men named Zechariah in Scripture.
The main three are Zechariah (1), the king of Israel; Zechariah (15), the prophet, and Zechariah (22), the father of John the Baptist.
Zechariah (1) is notable because he’s the first one mentioned in Scripture. He is a king of Israel—and evil.
He is the son of Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu. They are all kings of Israel. We’ll see shortly why this is significant.
Zechariah—like all the kings of Israel after the nation split in two—is a sinful king. He does evil in the Lord’s eyes, as did his predecessors. His reign lasts only six months.
Shallum assassinates him, then replaces him as king. Interestingly, Shallum’s reign is even shorter, lasting just one month, when he is likewise assassinated.
Though some evil kings enjoyed a long reign, Zechariah does not.
Before Zechariah’s great-great-grandfather—Jehu—becomes king, he kills all King Ahab’s descendants, along with his chiefs, close friends, and priests. No one survives. Then Jehu kills all the prophets of Baal and destroys their temple.
Jehu’s actions please God and accomplish all God intended to do to the house of the evil king Ahab. Therefore, God promises Jehu that his descendants will rule to the fourth generation.
Despite this promising start, however, Jehu fails to keep God’s laws with his whole heart. He continues the sins of former kings.
Even so, God fulfills his promise to Jehu that his reign will continue for four generations. Zechariah is the fourth. They are all evil.
What might we enjoy—even though undeserved—because of something one of our ancestors did?
What are we doing to build on our lives for future generations?
[Read about Zechariah (1) in 2 Kings 15:8–12. Discover more in 2 Kings 10:1–35, 2 Kings 13:9, 2 Kings 14:16, and 2 Kings 14:29.]
Learn about 100 more biblical characters in More Old Testament Sinners and Saints, available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Get your copy today.
More Old Testament Sinners and Saints is part of the Bible Character Sketches series.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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