“Then the Spirit of God took possession of Zechariah son of the priest Jehoiada. He stood above the people and said to them.
‘Thus says God.
Why do you transgress the commandments of Yahweh?
Thus you cannot prosper
Because you have forsaken Yahweh,
He has also forsaken you.’
But they conspired against him. By the command of King Joash they stoned him to death in the court of the house of Yahweh. King Joash did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, had shown him, but he killed his son. As he was dying, he said. ‘May Yahweh see and avenge!’”
This section is not found anywhere else in the biblical literature except here. The Spirit of God came on Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada. He began to prophesize in the name of Yahweh. He asked why they had transgressed the commandments of Yahweh. Generally when they say this, the prophets are referring to idolatry and false gods. There was a direct correlation between keeping the commandments and prospering. Here then is the famous phrase, because you have forsaken God, he has forsaken you. There was a revolt and a conspiracy against Zechariah. King Joash, who had been tutored and been given advice by his father Jehoiada, now turned on his son Zechariah. He had him stoned to death. The dying words of Zechariah were that Yahweh might avenge his death. This does not look good for King Joash, who up until his point had been on Yahweh’s good list. It is not clear why King Joash turned on the son of Jehoiada, except that leaders of Judah did not like him.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 