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Zechariah 1-7     Listen Podcast

An introduction to Zechariah

Zechariah was a contemporary of the prophet, Haggai; Zechariah started prophesying about two months after Haggai to the regathered exiles. They both prophesied in 520 B.C. on the occasion of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem after the Persians allowed the Jews to return home. According to Ezra 2 (see notes), the historical account of this era, about 50,000 Jews had returned to Jerusalem from exile. The temple-rebuilding project was finished in 516 B.C.

 

Your ancestors disobeyed; look where that got them! (Zechariah 1:1-6)

1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the  LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
2 “The LORD has been very angry with your fathers.
3 Therefore say to them, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.
4 “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the LORD.
5 “Your fathers, where are they?
And the prophets, do they live forever?
6 Yet surely My words and My statutes,
Which I commanded My servants the prophets,
Did they not overtake your fathers? ¶ “So they returned and said:
‘Just as the LORD of hosts determined to do to us,
According to our ways and according to our deeds,
So He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”

We are given the date in verse 1 as October/November, 520 B.C. Sometimes a harsh reminder is a good thing. Zechariah proclaims to the returning exiles that their ancestors' disobedience caused all the problems in the first place; let's not make the same mistakes.

The horseman and craftsmen visions: rebuild the temple (Zechariah 1:7-17)

7 ¶ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet:
8 I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white.
9 Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.”
10 ¶ And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.”
11 ¶ So they answered the Angel of the LORD, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly.”
12 ¶ Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?”
13 ¶ And the LORD answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words.
14 So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts:
‘I am zealous for Jerusalem
And for Zion with great zeal.
15 I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease;
For I was a little angry,
And they helped—but with evil intent.”
16 ¶ “Therefore thus says the LORD:
‘I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy;
My house shall be built in it,” says the LORD of hosts,
“And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’
17 ¶ “Again proclaim, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts:
‘My cities shall again spread out through prosperity;
The LORD will again comfort Zion,
And will again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”

Zechariah had eight visions at night found in 1:7 through 6:15, and we are given the date of these visions in verse 7 as February, 519 B.C. In Zechariah's first vision, he is told to alert the folks that it's time to rebuild the temple. Zechariah 1:16, "Therefore thus says the LORD: 'I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,' says the LORD of hosts, 'And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.'" That's a surveyor's line there indicating that construction should begin.

So...who are these horsemen? There are many speculations, but they are all just speculations. Whatever they represent, they report that "earth" (Hebrew: "erets"="land" or "earth") "is at rest" (verse 11). What does that mean? We're given a hint in verse 12 with a reference of 70 years when it says, "Then the Angel of the LORD answered and said, 'O LORD of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?'" Daniel and his crew were the first to go into Babylonian exile from Judah in 605 B.C. The return to the land of Judah took place beginning in 535 B.C. or so - 70 years later. That's exactly what Jeremiah had prophesied in Jeremiah 25:11-12 (see notes) and reiterated in Jeremiah 29:10 (see notes) before the exile began. The horsemen, therefore, bring this message: The exile is over, and under the Persians the land is at peace. That being the case, let's get to work on that temple (verse 16)!

Notice verse 17, "Again proclaim, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; The LORD will again comfort Zion, And will again choose Jerusalem.'" That verse seems to be Messianic. There's not really a historical context in which those words can be stated, yet Jerusalem will one day be the center of activity under the Messiah in the yet-future millennium.

Four horns and four carpenters (Zechariah 1:18-21)

18 ¶ Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four horns.
19 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” ¶ So he answered me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 ¶ Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” ¶ So he said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Here's Zechariah's second vision. Actually, the carpenters here refer to all kinds of craftsmen (Hebrew: charash). The horns symbolize the gentile scattering of Judah and the craftsmen have come to fix it. The horns probably stand for empires/nations. Since it's probably making reference to four nations under whom Israel and Judah were scattered, it must mean (in chronological order) Assyria, Egypt, Babylon and Medo-Persians. Who knows for sure? That's a really good guess, though.

Jerusalem is coming back (Zechariah 2)

1 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.
2 So I said, “Where are you going?” ¶ And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”
3 ¶ And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him,
4 who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it.
5 For I,’ says the LORD, “will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”
6 ¶ “Up, up! Flee from the land of the north,” says the LORD; “for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the LORD.
7 “Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.”
8 ¶ For thus says the LORD of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.
9 For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.
10 ¶ “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” says the LORD.
11 “Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
12 And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem.
13 Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!”

This third vision has a man with a measuring line to size up Jerusalem - presumably to build a wall around it. You won't be able to contain the city within walls when God is finished with Jerusalem. Notice that in verse 5 it is said, "'For I,' says the LORD, 'will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.'" While the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple began at that time, the final outcome of this prophecy is obviously a reference to conditions during the millennium when the Messiah will reign there. As a matter of fact, the whole chapter speaks of a Jerusalem that is the center of the world with regard to authority and influence; that's definitely millennial. In verse 8, Israel is referred to as the "apple of His [God's] eye."

What about this branch and this stone? (Zechariah 3)

1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.
2 And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
3 ¶ Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
4 ¶ Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
5 ¶ And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” ¶ So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.
6 ¶ Then the Angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying,
7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts:
‘If you will walk in My ways,
And if you will keep My command,
Then you shall also judge My house,
And likewise have charge of My courts;
I will give you places to walk
Among these who stand here.
8 “Hear, O Joshua, the high priest,
You and your companions who sit before you,
For they are a wondrous sign;
For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.
9 For behold, the stone
That I have laid before Joshua:
Upon the stone are seven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’
Says the LORD of hosts,
“And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
10 In that day,’ says the LORD of hosts,
“Everyone will invite his neighbor
Under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”

So, here we have a fourth vision with Joshua (Click here for details about Joshua, the high priest, of this era) and Satan standing together before God. Satan is rebuked and Joshua is told that the branch is coming. Could this be Isaiah's branch? Isaiah 11:1 (see notes) says, "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots." Well...I think so. It's another reference to the Messiah. And then there's a reference to a stone. Could this also be Isaiah's stone? Isaiah 28:16 (see notes) says, "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.'" Well...again...I think so. Not only so, but look at the entirety of verse 9, "'For behold, the stone That I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,' Says the LORD of hosts, 'And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.'" If Jesus is the stone, and I'm convinced that is exactly what Zechariah is prophesying here, then the removal of "the iniquity of that land in one day" must be a reference to the finished work of Jesus on the cross for the sins of the world. On the first day of the millennium all Jews will have a covenant relationship with the Messiah, Jesus Christ, a fulfillment of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-34 (see notes). This prophecy will have been fulfilled on that day. Now notice, Joshua is only seen by Zechariah here. As the new religious leader of Jerusalem, Joshua symbolizes conditions to come during the millennium with the reign of Christ. Zechariah is prophesying Jerusalem's future glory during the millennium.

Lampstands and olive branches (Zechariah 4)

1 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” ¶ So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.
3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.”
4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
5 ¶ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” ¶ And I said, “No, my lord.”
6 ¶ So he answered and said to me:
“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the LORD of hosts.
7 “Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”
8 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
9 “The hands of Zerubbabel
Have laid the foundation of this temple;
His hands shall also finish it.
Then you will know
That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
10 For who has despised the day of small things?
For these seven rejoice to see
The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
They are the eyes of the LORD,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
11 ¶ Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?”
12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?”
13 ¶ Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” ¶ And I said, “No, my lord.”
14 ¶ So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”

It's hard to say with certainty exactly what this fifth vision means, but the basic meaning seems to be the supernatural empowering (the candlesticks) of the Holy Spirit for the people to rebuild the temple under the direction of Joshua (the high priest and spiritual leader) and the civil leader, Zerubbabel. These two men seem to be the two olive trees. Zechariah is looking for more clarification regarding the identities here, and is given his answer in verse 14, "So he said, 'These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.'" The word "earth" there is the Hebrew word, "erets," which is frequently translated "land." This seems to validate that the two leaders of the returned exiles, Zerubbabel and Joshua, are in view in this chapter.

The flying scroll (Zechariah 5:1-4)

1 Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll.
2 ¶ And he said to me, “What do you see?” ¶ So I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
3 ¶ Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: “Every thief shall be expelled,’ according to this side of the scroll; and, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to that side of it.”
4 “I will send out the curse,” says the LORD of hosts;
“It shall enter the house of the thief
And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name.
It shall remain in the midst of his house
And consume it, with its timber and stones.”

So, how about a huge flying scroll about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide for the sixth vision? It is not stated why, but it is said that this scroll is for judgment against two of the ten commandments, stealing and swearing falsely. The linkage with the rebuilding of the temple is not well established here. It would appear that these four verses serve as an indictment against the people for allowing sin to block the temple-rebuilding effort.

The woman in a basket (Zechariah 5:5-11)

5 ¶ Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.”
6 ¶ So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.” ¶ He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth:
7 Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”;
8 then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth.
9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
10 ¶ So I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?”
11 ¶ And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”

Wickedness moves out of town in this seventh vision. All through the Old Testament, worshipping other gods was symbolized by an adulterous woman. This vision seems to symbolize this adulterous woman being taken out of the land and securely deposited away from Israel in Shinar (Babylon). In other words, this prophecy looks to the time when evil shall be removed from Israel. The women and their mission in verses 9-11 is a mystery.

The four chariots (Zechariah 6:1-8)

1 Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze.
2 With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,
3 with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses—strong steeds.
4 Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 ¶ And the angel answered and said to me, “These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.”
7 Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, “Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.” So they walked to and fro throughout the earth.
8 And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country.”

Here's Zechariah's eighth night vision. Egypt had invaded from the south; Assyria and Babylon had invaded from the north. These four chariots are sent in both directions to monitor peace for the Jews during this time, it would appear. To speculate beyond that would be just...speculation.

Joshua's crown (Zechariah 6:9-15)

9 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
10 “Receive the gift from the captives—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon—and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah.
11 Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
12 Then speak to him, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying:
‘Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!
From His place He shall branch out,
And He shall build the temple of the LORD;
13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD.
He shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” ’
14 ¶ “Now the elaborate crown shall be for a memorial in the temple of the LORD for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.
15 Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the LORD. Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.”

Joshua, the high priest under whose direction the temple is rebuilt, gets a crown in this word from the Lord. It seems to be an appointment of Joshua to be the straw boss over the work of rebuilding the temple.

To fast or not to fast - that is the question (Zechariah 7)

1 Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to pass that the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev,
2 when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-melech and his men, to the house of God, to pray before the LORD,
3 and to ask the priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”
4 ¶ Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
5 “Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me?
6 When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves?
7 Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?’ ”
8 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
9 “Thus says the LORD of hosts:
‘Execute true justice,
Show mercy and compassion
Everyone to his brother.
10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,
The alien or the poor.
Let none of you plan evil in his heart
Against his brother.’
11 ¶ But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear.
12 Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.
13 Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the LORD of hosts.
14 “But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.”

It's now December, 518 B.C. - two years since Zechariah's last prophecy. The subject: Fasting. The exiles are back. Over in Babylon they had initiated days of fasting to commemorate different aspects of Judah's history surrounding the fall of Jerusalem. We see in verse 5 the reference to the "seventy years" of Babylonian exile. Daniel and his crew were the first to go into Babylonian exile from Judah in 605 B.C. The return to the land of Judah took place beginning in 535 B.C. or so - 70 years later. That's exactly what Jeremiah had prophesied in Jeremiah 25:11-12 (see notes) and reiterated in Jeremiah 29:10 (see notes) before the exile began. According to Zechariah 8 (see notes) there were four such days of fasting. So here's the question: Now that we're not in exile any longer, do we still need to observe these days of fasting? In chapter 7 we don't exactly get an answer to this question, but we do get a history-of-disobedience lesson along with an indication that they weren't very sincere in their fasting anyway. The answer to the question, "To fast or not to fast?" is found in Zechariah 8 (see notes) where this discussion continues.