A Covenant of Grace
And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones . . . And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it. -2 Chronicles 24:21-22
In the above verse, a prophet named Zechariah spoke out against the king’s backsliding: because he had turned his back on the Lord. Yet the king did not hear the words of the prophet gracefully, but instead had him stoned to death.
But what’s interesting is what the man of God said at his death. He said: “the LORD look upon it, and require it.” In other words, he called upon God to bring justice and judgment to the wrong that had been done.
A similar story
Zechariah’s unfortunate end bears a remarkable resemblance to another story, though in the New Testament instead of the Old. Stephen was also a godly man, and he was brought before the high priest. He also testified against authority for their wickedness, with similar results as Zechariah.
The people determined to stone him to death, but what is important is what Stephen said at his death. “And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:60).
Two very similar stories, but two vastly different responses.
A covenant of grace
This is not to say that the justice that Zechariah called for at his death was wrong, but it’s simply in sharp contrast with the words of Stephen. And not only that, but I believe that each of these men’s prayers were both heard and answered by God.
In Zechariah’s case, king Joash ended up filled with diseases, and on his deathbed his servants conspired against him and killed him.
In Stephen’s case, a man named Saul (who was present when Stephen died) was indeed shown mercy, and his sin was not laid to his charge. Following his vision on the road to Damascus, Saul went on to become the apostle Paul, the writer of a large portion of the New Testament, a church planter, and a preacher.
In both justice and mercy, God is glorified. But today, under God’s covenant of grace, we ought to show others mercy if we desire to be shown mercy ourselves.
So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. -James 2:12-13
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