Categoria: Zechariah

Zechariah concludes his book announcing the coming Day of the Lord. “The Day of the Lord is coming… I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it… the city will be captured… half of the people will go into exile… then the Lord will fight these nations… and the Lord will stand on the Mount of Olives and it will be split in two… and you will flee… and God will come with his holy ones… and on that day there will be no light… but in the evening there will be light… and living water will flow from Jerusalem… and the Lord will be king over the whole earth… and Jerusalem will be secure… and God will give a plague to the nations and their flesh will rot when there are stood up and their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths… and the wealth of the nations will be collected… whilst a similar plague will affect all the animals… and the survivors of the nation will worship God… and people that don’t go will receive no rain… and HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses”.

“A fountain will be opened to cleanse from sin… I will banish idols from the land… I will remove the false prophets with the spirit of impurity from the land… and if they still try to prophesy their own parents will stab them”. Then comes a Messianic passage quoted by Jesus himself in Mark 14:27: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered”. Then the text goes on to say: “In the whole land two-thirds will be struck down and one-third left… and I will refine them in the fire like silver and test them like gold… they will call on my name and I will answer them… I will say they are my people and they will say the Lord is our God”.

Zechariah 12 prophesies future deliverance of Jerusalem, the defeat of its enemies and the spiritual restoration of God’s people. “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding people reeling!… I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock… I will keep a watchful eye over Judah but I will blind all the horses of the nations… the leaders of Judah then will be saying in their hearts – the people of Jerusalem are strong because the Lord Almighty is their God… the leaders of Judah will consume all the surrounding peoples but Jerusalem will remain intact… the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem”. 

 Zechariah 11 is prophetic of the rejection of God’s true shepherd. The chapter starts with a call to Lebanon and Bashan to mourn the destruction of their mighty trees which is symbolic of God’s judgement. Then God tells Zechariah to “pasture the flock marked for slaughter (Judah)… for I will no longer have pity on the people of the land… and Zechariah cared for this flock marked for slaughter… and he took 2 staffs with one Favour and the other Union… and the flock detested Zechariah… so he asked for his pay and received 30 pieces of silver… so woe to worthless shepherds who desert the flock… may his arm be withered and his right eye blinded”. We must therefore be careful to follow the true shepherd and genuine spiritual leadership.

Zechariah 10 brings a message of hope to his people. “God gives showers of rain and plants of the field to everyone… Idols speak deceit and diviners lie… I will punish bad leaders… but from Judah will come the cornerstone… together they will be mighty men… because the Lord is with them… and I will strengthen the house of Judah… I will retore them because I have compassion on them… their children will see it and be joyful… surely I will redeem them… I will bring them back from Egypt and Assyria… and I will strengthen them in the Lord and in his name they will walk”.

Now come prophecies about judgment for the nations and about the coming Messiah. “Tyre has built a stronghold and amassed wealth, but the Lord will take away her possessions… Ashkelon will see it and fear… Gaza will writhe in agony… and Ekron too… foreigners will occupy Ashdod… and those left will belong to God… and never again will an oppressor overrun my people”. Now rejoice Zion!… your king comes to you… gentle and riding on a donkey… he will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea… and the Lord will appear and the Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet… the Lord their God will save them on that day… they will sparkle in the land like jewels in a crown!”

 Zechariah 8 is a message of hope and restoration. “This is what the Lord Almighty says: I am very zealous for Zion… I will return there and dwell in Jerusalem… and it will be called the City of Truth… the city will have the aged sitting in the streets and boys and girls playing there too… I will save my people from east and west and bring them back to Jerusalem… so let your hands be strong so that the temple can be built… the seed will grow well and the vine will yield its fruit… I will save you and you will be a blessing… I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem… so speak truth… render sound judgement… love truth and peace… and many nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord… and people will ask to go with you because God is with you!”

This chapter deals with the practical matter of whether people should continue to fast and mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. People came from Bethel to ask the priests: “Should I mourn and fast as I have done for many years?… and God asked what was your real motive when you fasted over these 70 years?… then the Lord said he had always required people to administer true justice above all else; show mercy and compassion to one another… don’t oppress the widow or the orphan, the foreigner or the poor. In your hearts don’t think evil of each other… but your forefathers would not listen… which angered God… and he said that’s why he scattered them like a whirlwind when he did”. 

 Zechariah 6 brings the last of 8 night visions which ends with a symbolic act pointing to the Messiah. Zechariah saw 4 chariots with red, black, white and dappled horses respectively. An angel told him that these were “the four spirits of heaven” going in different directions around the earth symbolizing God’s judgement on the nations. Then Zechariah was told to make a gold and silver crown and put it on the high priest Joshua. This symbolic act points to the coming Messiah called “the branch”. “He will build the temple… be a priest on the throne… and there will be harmony between the two”.

Zechariah 5 brings another 2 visions condemning sin. Initially Zechariah sees an enormous flying scroll 9 metres long by 4.5 metres wide representing the curse of God’s judgement banishing every thief and everyone who bears false witness. Then an angel showed him a “measuring basket” to measure the sin of the people. In the basket was a woman representing wickedness, and she was kept inside by a lead lid. Two other women then took the basket to Babylon. 

 Zechariah 4 brings encouragement for the rebuilding of the temple which will be accomplished by God’s help: “Not by might, nor by strength, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty… who despises the day of small things?”. This message comes from the vision of the gold lampstand and 2 Olive trees. “What are you? O mighty mountain (of challenges and difficulties)? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground”. Thus he and all the returned exiles were encouraged that by God’s strength the work of the temple would be completed.

 Zechariah 3 has a vision of Joshua the High Priest standing before the angel of the Lord while Satan is near at hand to accuse him. “The Lord said to Satan – the Lord rebuke you Satan!” Joshua was wearing filthy clothes so the angel ordered their removal. “See, I have taken away your sin, said the angel, and I will put rich garments on you”. Then they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him. And the angel said “walk in my ways and keep my requirements and you will govern my house”. Then he said “I am going to bring my servant, the Branch… and I will remove the sin of the land in a single day”. Thus was symbolized the renewal of the priesthood post exile.

The prophecy of Zechariah came after the Jews had returned from the Babylonian exile around 520 BC. The prophecy calls the people to repentance, calls then too to rebuild the temple and points to a coming Messiah.

God initially calls the people: “Return to me and I will return to you… turn from your evil ways”. God warns the people not to repeat the errors of their forefathers because, as the exile showed, God always judges sin”. Then comes a vision of a man riding a red horse among myrtle trees in front of red, brown and white horses. An angel and the man in the trees explain that the horses went round and found the world in peace. Then the angel asked God when he would be merciful to Jerusalem which he had punished for 70 years? God said that the nations had exaggerated with the punishment, but now he would return with mercy to Jerusalem and the temple would be rebuilt. Then Zechariah saw 4 horns which represent the powers which scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem, and he saw 4 craftsmen sent by God to terrify these oppressive nations. For God will ultimately judge these nations and remove their power.