Midras 2 Raja-raja 25:8: Kohelet Rabbah & Shemot Rabbah

“If the spirit of the ruler comes upon you, do not forsake your place, as in its abating he will pardon great sins” (Ecclesiastes 10:4).
“If the spirit of the ruler comes upon you, do not forsake your place” – when dominion comes to you, do not forsake your attribute of humility, to teach you that anyone who forsakes his humility causes death to his world and sin to his generation. From whom do you learn this? From Zekharia, as it is stated: “The spirit of God clothed Zekharia….and he stood above the people” (II Chronicles 24:20). Did he, in fact, walk above the people? It is, rather, that he considered himself greater than all the people; son-in-law of the king,¹⁰He was actually the grandson, the son of the son-in-law, of King Yehoram. He was also a cousin to King Yoash, who was king of Judah at the time of this event. priest, prophet, and judge. He began speaking arrogantly to the people, and saying to them: “Why are you violating the mitzvot of the Lord so that you will not succeed?” (II Chronicles 24:20). Immediately, “they conspired against him and stoned him with stones at the command of the king [in the courtyard of the house of the Lord]” (II Chronicles 24:21).
Rabbi Yudan asked Rabbi Aḥa: Where did they kill Zekharia, in the Israelite Courtyard or in the Women’s Courtyard? [Rabbi Aḥa] said to him: Neither in the Israelite Courtyard nor in the Women’s Courtyard, but rather in the Priests’ Courtyard. They did not treat his blood like the blood of a gazelle or the blood of a deer. Regarding the blood of a gazelle and a deer whose blood has been spilled, it is written: “You shall spill its blood and cover it with dirt” (Leviticus 17:13), but this righteous one [Zekharia], they did not treat his blood like the blood of a gazelle and not like the blood of a deer. Why [did God allow them to be wicked] to such an extent? It was “to arouse fury and to take vengeance” (Ezekiel 24:8). You find that when Nevuzaradan¹¹Nevuzaradan was the officer who led the Babylonian troops in sacking Jerusalem and destroying the Temple (see II Kings 25:8–22). ascended to destroy Jerusalem, the Holy One blessed be He indicated to that blood that it should seethe. He said to it:¹²The Holy One blessed be He said to the blood. This is the time that you will collect your debt. [Nevuzaradan] said to them: ‘What is the nature of this blood?’ They said to him: ‘It is the blood of bulls, rams, and sheep that we were sacrificing to the Holy One blessed be He.’ Immediately, he brought bulls, rams, and sheep and slaughtered many of them onto it, but it did not stop. He said to them: ‘If you tell me, fine. But if not, I will comb the flesh of these people with a comb of iron,’ but [at first] they did not say. Once he [again] said to them that [their explanation] was not [true], they said to him: ‘Why should we conceal it from you? We had a prophet, a priest, who would reprimand us in the name of Heaven. [He said to us]: Accept it, but we did not accept it from him. Rather, we rose against him and killed him.’
[Nevuzaradan] said to them: ‘I will assuage it.’ He then brought the Great Sanhedrin and slaughtered them onto it, but it did not rest. He slaughtered the lesser Sanhedrin onto it, but it did not rest. He brought young priests and slaughtered them onto it, but it did not rest. He slaughtered schoolchildren onto it, but it did not rest. He said to [the seething blood]: ‘Zekharia, I have eliminated the best of your people. Would you like all of them to be eliminated?’ Immediately, it rested. That wicked one contemplated repentance, and said: ‘One who eliminates a single Israelite soul, it is written in his regard: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, his blood will be spilled by man” (Genesis 9:6); this man¹³Nevuzaradan was referring to himself. who eliminated many souls, all the more so.’ At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He became filled with mercy, and He intimated to the blood, and it was absorbed in its place.
Rabbi Yudan said: [The Israelites] performed seven transgressions [via one act] on that day:¹⁴When they killed Zekharia. They killed a priest, a prophet, and a judge, they spilled innocent blood, they impurified the Temple Courtyard, and it was Shabbat and Yom Kippur.¹⁵Killing is a prohibited labor on these days, as well as a profound violation of the sanctity of the day.
But Yaḥaziyel did not do so;¹⁶He did not become haughty when he achieved an elevated status. rather, “Yaḥaziyel, son of Zekharia, son of Benaya, son of Yaḥaziyel, son of Matanya the Levite, from the sons of Asaf, the spirit of the Lord was upon him in the midst of the assembly” (II Chronicles 20:14). What is “in the midst of the assembly”? It is that he likened himself to the assembly.
Another matter: “If the spirit of the ruler comes upon you,” is speaking of Noah.¹⁷The midrash interprets the verse to refer to a ruler issuing a command to you. If he commands you to be in a certain place, do not forsake that place without another official command. He entered the ark with permission and he emerged with permission. From where [is it derived] that he entered with permission? [It is from the verse:] “Come you and all your household to the ark” (Genesis 7:1). From where [is it derived] that he emerged with permission? [It is from the verse:] “Go out of the ark, you …” (Genesis 8:16).
Another matter: “If the spirit of the ruler comes upon you,” is speaking of Joshua. Just as the Israelites crossed the Jordan with permission, so too they emerged only with permission. From where [is it derived that] they crossed with permission? As it is stated: “Pass through the midst of the camp…[in another three days you are crossing this Jordan]” (Joshua 1:11). They emerged with permission, as it is stated: “Joshua commanded the priests saying: Emerge from the Jordan” (Joshua 4:17).
Another matter: “If the spirit of the ruler…” is speaking of David. Before he reigned, “David is the youngest” (I Samuel 17:14). When he reigned, “King David stood on his feet [and said: Hear me my brethren]” (I Chronicles 28:2).¹⁸He remained humble even after he assumed the throne.
Another matter: “If the spirit of the ruler…” is speaking of Mordekhai. Before prominence came to him, “Mordekhai was sitting at the king’s gate” (Esther 2:19). When prominence came to him, “Mordekhai returned to the king’s gate” (Esther 6:12).¹⁹This indicates that Mordekhai did not become haughty due to his prominence.

Another matter: “Carve for yourself” – that is what is written: “But now, Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our Potter” (Isaiah 64:7). The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘Now I am your Father? When you saw yourselves in distress, you called me: Our Father.’¹⁰You relate to me as your Father only when you need me. They said to Him: ‘Yes, as it is stated: “On the day of my distress I sought the Lord”’ (Psalms 77:3). This is analogous to the son of a prominent doctor who encountered a lowly individual and began asking after his welfare. He said to him: ‘My lord, my master, my father.’ His father heard and became angry at him. He said: ‘Let him not appear in my presence, since he called that lowly individual: My father.’ Sometime later, the son fell ill. He said: ‘Please call my father so he will see me.’ They came and told his father. He was immediately overwhelmed with compassion for [his son] and came to him. [The son] said to him: ‘I implore you, my father, look at me.’ He said to him: ‘Now I am your father? Yesterday, you were calling the lowly individual: My father. Now that you are in distress you call me: My father?’ So too, the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘Now you call me: My Father? Yesterday, you were engaged in idol worship and calling it: My father, as it is stated: “They say to wood: You are my father…but in the time of their misfortune they say: [Arise, and save us]”’ (Jeremiah 2:27). That is why it is stated: “But now, Lord, You are our Father.”
Another matter: “But now, Lord, You are our Father…” (Isaiah 64:7) – that is what is written: “A son will honor his father” (Malachi 1:6) – this is Esau, who honored his father greatly, as he would go out to the fields, hunt game, bring it [home], cook it, and go and feed his father each day. “And a servant his master” (Malachi 1:6) – this is Nevuzaradan, who was called a servant, as it is stated: “Nevuzaradan, captain of the guards, servant of the king of Babylon, came” (II Kings 25:8), as when he came to Jerusalem, he brought with him a likeness of Nebuchadnezzar and would stand before it in awe and reverence like a servant. But you did not honor Me like a father, and you did not fear Me like a master. That is, “if I am a father, where is My honor? If I am a master, where is My fear” (Malachi 1:6)? Rather, when you see yourselves in distress, you call Me your Father. That is why it is stated: “But now, Lord, You are our Father.”
What is, “we are the clay and You are our Potter” (Isaiah 64:7)? Israel said: ‘Master of the universe, You had it written for us: “Behold, like clay in the hand of the potter, so you are in My hand, house of Israel” (Jeremiah 18:6). Therefore, even though we sin and commit provocations before You, do not depart from us. Why? Because “we are the clay and You are our Potter.”’ Come and see this potter, if he crafts a barrel and leaves a pebble in it, when it emerges from the kiln, it leaks from the place of the pebble and loses all the liquid that is placed in it. Who caused the barrel to leak what was inside it? The potter who left the pebble in it. So too, Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, You created in us an evil inclination from our youth, as it is stated: “As the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). It causes us to sin before You, but You do not remove this instigator from us. Please remove it from us so we will perform Your will.’ He said to them: ‘That is what I will do in the future,’ as it is stated: “On that day, the utterance of the Lord, I will gather the lame, assemble the outcasts and those whom I harmed [vaasher hare’oti]” (Micah 4:6). What is asher hare’oti? This is the evil inclination [yetzer hara],¹¹Thus, the phrase asher hare’oti is understood to mean, “the evil I have caused,” or, “those I have caused to be evil” via the evil inclination. as it is stated: “As the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth.”
Another matter: “But now, Lord, You are our Father” (Isaiah 64:7) – that is what is written: “Lord, they sought You in distress” (Isaiah 26:16); when they encounter distress they seek You, as it is stated: “Lord, they sought You in distress.” This is analogous to a prominent official who had children; they adhered to wicked people and strayed to the evil path. He stripped them and cast them out. When they saw themselves in distress, they asked prominent people to ask for mercy on their behalf. Their father said to [the messengers]: ‘What are you requesting?’ They said to him: ‘That you reconcile with your children.’ He said: ‘They are not my children; I do not acknowledge them. Their mother committed adultery and bore them.’ They said to him: ‘You cannot renounce them. Why? Because everyone knows that they are your children, because they resemble you.’
So too, the prominent official is the Holy One blessed be He. His children are Israel, as it is stated: “You are children to the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 14:1). They mingled with idolaters and strayed to the evil path, as it is stated: “They mingled with the nations and learned their practices” (Psalms 106:35). What did He do to them? He stripped them and cast them away, as it is stated: “They will strip you of your garments” (Ezekiel 23:26), and it is written: “Send them from My presence and let them depart” (Jeremiah 15:1).
When they found themselves in distress they began asking the prophets to ask for mercy on their behalf from the Holy One blessed be He. They began asking for mercy for them, as it is stated: “Have pity upon Your people” (Joel 2:17). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘On behalf of whom are you asking?’ They said: ‘On behalf of Your children.’ He said to them: ‘They are not My children. If they perform My will they are My children, and if not, they are not My children,’ as it is stated: “Their mother has committed licentiousness, she who conceived them has shamed herself” (Hosea 2:7). Why? “For she said: I will follow my paramours” (Hosea 2:7) – these are idols. Therefore, the Holy One blessed be He said: “Now, I will expose her repulsiveness in the eyes of her paramours” (Hosea 2:12) – these are idols, whom she calls: “Providers of my bread and my water” (Hosea 2:7). But [the idol] has eyes but does not see, ears, but does not hear, and cannot feed itself; how will it feed others? The Holy One blessed be He stripped her, as it is stated: “Lest I strip her bare” (Hosea 2:5).
The prophets said to the Holy One blessed be He: ‘You say that they are not Your children, but they are recognizable by their faces, as it is stated: “All who see them will recognize them, for they are the seed the Lord has blessed” (Isaiah 61:9). Just as it is the way of a father to have mercy on his children even though they have sinned, so too, You must have mercy upon them.’ That is, “but now, Lord, You are our Father” (Isaiah 64:7).
Likewise you find that when they crafted the calf, the Holy One blessed be He became angry at them. Moses came to placate Him, and He called them: Not My people, as it is stated: “Because your people has acted corruptly” (Exodus 32:7). The Holy One blessed be He stripped them, as it is stated: “The children of Israel were stripped of their ornament from Mount Ḥorev” (Exodus 33:6). Moses said: ‘They are Your people and You cannot renounce them,’ as it is stated: “Why, Lord, is Your wrath enflamed against Your people?” (Exodus 32:11). ‘Reconcile with them because they are Your children.’ Immediately He reconciled with them, as it is stated: “The Lord reconsidered” (Exodus 32:14). He showed Moses that He reconciled with them, as He restored the commandments to them, as it is stated: “Carve for yourself.”