Jehoiada was quite the figure – the son of Benaiah, who served as commander-in-chief of the army under Solomon. Talk about living history!
King Joash, guided by Jehoiada, diligently set about restoring the Temple. And they worked so quickly that Jehoiada, having seen Solomon's original temple, was granted the blessing of seeing the new one before he passed away.
As long as Joash listened to Jehoiada, he was a righteous king. But here’s where the story takes a tragic turn. After Jehoiada's death, the king's advisors started to flatter him. They told him, "If you weren’t a god, how could you have stayed in the Holy of Holies for six years? Even the high priest can only enter that sacred space once a year!" (The Holy of Holies, or Kodesh Hakodashim, was the innermost sanctuary of the Temple).
Joash, sadly, believed their lies. He allowed the people to worship him as a god. Can you imagine? The temptation! According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, this folly went so far that Joash even tried to set up an idol within the Temple itself.
That's when Zechariah, Jehoiada's son, stepped in. He was not just a high priest, prophet, and judge, but also Joash's own son-in-law! Zechariah stood at the Temple entrance and declared, "You shall not do it as long as I live!"
But Joash, blinded by his own arrogance, had Zechariah killed for his defiance. It was an unspeakable act, made even more horrific because it happened on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which also fell on the Sabbath. According to the tradition, Zechariah was murdered in the very hall of the priests.
And here’s where the legend gets truly chilling. The innocent blood of Zechariah, spilled on that holy ground, wouldn't be silenced. For 252 years, it seethed and pulsed, crying out for justice.
Finally, as we find in Midrash Rabbah, Nebuzaradan, the captain of Nebuchadnezzar's guard, arrived. He saw the blood and, upon learning the story of Zechariah's murder, ordered a great slaughter of the Judeans to avenge his death.
A pretty grim tale, isn't it? It’s a stark reminder of the consequences of arrogance, the importance of humility, and the enduring power of righteous action. And it leaves you pondering: how easily can we, too, be swayed by flattery and lose sight of what's truly important?