Zechariah 1
February 21, 2007I am beginning a study of the book of the prophet Zechariah.
Zechariah was born during the exile in Babylon. Our first hymn was written during that time. Psalm 137 tune Ash Grove. (remember Boney M)
When we were studying Mark's Gospel, we saw that many of the events in the life of the Lord Jesus were as prophesied by Zechariah.
Can you think of some?
The triumphal entry to Jerusalem is the most famous.
Strike the shepherd & the sheep will be scattered.
Betrayal for 30 pieces of silver.
They will look on him whom they pierced.
There are many more direct quotations & allusions.
We need to understand this prophecy and its true message.
It is first for the people of his time, then for those living at the time of Jesus.
We must also see its significance for the whole Gospel age known in Scripture as the end times, and therefore its application to ourselves.
During the study we will compare the similar visions particularly of John in Revelation.
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo:
First a few facts to clear some confusion about Darius & Zechariah.
Zechariah begins his ministry soon after Haggai in the second year of Darius II around the year 520 BC.
Daniel began praying that God would end the 70 year exile in the first year of Darius I around the year 538 BC. That was after Belshazzar had his feast using temple vessels, and had the famous "writing in the wall" message.
That night the Medes & Persians entered Babylon, Cyrus & Darius sharing the kingdom. Cyrus then issued the decree that the Jews should return to Jerusalem & rebuild the temple.
The return was led by Zerubbabel, who was of the Davidic kingly line (Mat. 1:12), & the high priest Jeshua.
Iddo & Zechariah were in the group that returned with them. They are listed as priests.
Zechariah is probably not the Zechariah referred to by the Lord as being martyred by the Jews.
The prophecy begins after the returning Jews have begun to build the temple. The Jews first build the altar, & offer sacrifices. Then they lay the foundations of the temple. All the people rejoice, though some mix their joy with tears as they remember the wonderful temple that was destroyed.
We will read Ezra 3:10-13
That rejoicing was short lived.
The Samaritans oppose the work & get a decree issued to stop the building.
Ezra 4:21, 24.
Haggai tells us that the people were quite happy with that. They got on with building their own houses, and forgot that the LORD had brought them back to their land for his purposes.
Zec. 1:2 The LORD was very angry with your forefathers.
3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Return to me,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and I will return to you,' says the LORD Almighty.
4 Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.' But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.
5 Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, do they live for ever?
6 But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your forefathers? Then they repented and said, 'The LORD Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.'
That repentance is recorded for us in Daniel 9, as he confesses his sin & the sin of the people. He acknowledges that the LORD is just in his punishment of the nation, & prays according to God's promise by Jeremiah that God will return the Jews to their land once the 70 years has been completed.
Zechariah may be a prophet himself, but he begins by reminding the people that their forefathers had suffered because they rejected the warnings earlier prophets had given.
Zechariah has begun his ministry as a faithful prophet of God. The people should therefore pay attention to all he has to say.
He proceeds with prophecies about the condition of the land, & of the future. The prophecies are for those who listen to the warnings from the LORD.
In the wonderful Gospel chapter of Isaiah 55, myrtle trees are a sign that the LORD is restoring the land.
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.
8 During the night I had a vision— and there before me was a man riding a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
9 I asked, What are these, my lord? The angel who was talking with me answered, I will show you what they are.
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, They are the ones the LORD has sent to go throughout the earth.
11 And they reported to the angel of the LORD, who was standing among the myrtle trees, We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.
12 Then the angel of the LORD said, LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?
13 So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,
15 but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.'
16 Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,' declares the LORD Almighty.
17 Proclaim further: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.'
The people are again in distress. They had come back to Jerusalem with great enthusiasm to rebuild the temple & their city, but the opposition from the Samaritans soon discouraged them.
Zechariah and Haggai are commissioned by God to encourage the people of God, to reassure them they are are back in the land according to God's plan.
God had told Daniel that the return was to rebuild Jerusalem for the Messiah.
The horsemen are God's agents watching the nations, particularly those that have taken advantage of the weakness of the Jews during the 70 year captivity.
We will look more closely at the horsemen when we come to chapter 6.
18 Then I looked up— and there before me were four horns!
19 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, What are these? He answered me, These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.
20 Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
21 I asked, What are these coming to do? He answered, These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no-one could raise his head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.
That is remarkable. Jerusalem does not need a mighty army against the powerful nations - the horns that scattered her people. It is the craftsmen builders who will triumph over the men of war.
1 Then I looked up— and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand!
2 I asked, Where are you going? He answered me, To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.
3 Then the angel who was speaking to me left, and another angel came to meet him
4 and said to him: Run, tell that young man, 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it.
5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the LORD, 'and I will be its glory within.'
In 1:16 God promised that a measuring line would be stretched out over Jerusalem. Now he says Jerusalem will be too vast to measure.
Here we see the promise of the New Jerusalem - a spiritual city where the people of God live. They will not need walls to defend them. God himself will be a wall of fire.
How different from the present Jerusalem! Many claim that the Jews are back in the land of Israel in fulfilment of Bible prophecy. They are building a 30 foot wall - 8 metres - for their security, and they trust in military might.
We need to trust in our God for our security. He keeps us safe in Christ through whatever troubles we have in life, and will bring us safe to be with him in glory.
Psalm 118 - tune 426.