Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 15
About 100 years had passed since Jehu killed Ahab’s whole family. God had chosen Jehu’s family to be the new royal family in northern and central Israel. Jeroboam, the father of King Zechariah, was the third king, after Jehu, from that family. Jeroboam had brought success and wealth to northern and central Israel.
However, God had told the prophet (holy man) Hosea that he (God) would soon act in judgment against the crimes of Jehu’s family (Hosea 1:3-4). Amos also had spoken a prophecy (message from God) against Jehu’s family (Amos 7:7-9).
King Zechariah would have known that God had promised for there to be four kings from Jehu’s family (10:30). He himself was the fourth king. It was therefore very clear to him that the time for God’s judgment was coming. However, Zechariah did not turn to God. Instead, he followed the same wrong religion that all the kings of northern and central Israel had followed. We may ask why in such circumstances, he neglected to turn to God. Perhaps he did not believe the prophecies. Maybe he only cared to please himself. However, it is possible that he simply did not expect God’s judgment to happen so soon. In other words, in his opinion, he had plenty of time before he needed to turn back to God. If so, he was very wrong, because he only ruled for 6 months until his sudden death.
Zechariah became king over northern and central Israel in what people called the 38th year of Azariah. Possibly, they were not counting from the year when Azariah became king, but from some earlier date.
Next part: Shallum murders Zechariah (2 Kings 15:10-12)
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