Zechariah's Vision

INTRO

Today we start our study in Zechariah. This is the fourth new book this week! Most scholars accept that the book is named after its author, the prophet Zechariah. The name Zechariah was used more than 29 times for people in the Old Testament, and it means “The Lord remembers.” MacArthur explains Zechariah “is second only to Isaiah in the breadth of the prophets’ writings about Messiah.”¹ There is so much about the Messiah in Zechariah.

MacArthur points out that Zechariah was a priest just as Jeremiah and Ezekiel were: “According to tradition, he was a member of the Great Synagogue, a council of 120 originated by Nehemiah and presided over by Ezra. This council later developed into the ruling elders of the nation, called the Sanhedrin.”² Zechariah was born in Babylon and returned to Jerusalem in the first group of exiles that included his grandfather. Some scholars suggest Zechariah’s father, Berechiah, died at a young age and never followed in his father’s place as a priest. The book of Zechariah is precisely dated in Zechariah 1:1 as 520 BC, the second year of Darius’s rule. Zechariah was a prophet during the same time as Haggai but was probably younger than Haggai (Zechariah 2:4). No information is known about how long Zechariah served as a prophet. His last prophecy that was dated (Zechariah 7:4) was given approximately two years later than his first. Therefore both of his prophecies were given at the same time as Haggai’s prophecies were given.

In 538 BC, under Cyrus the Persian’s reign, 50,000 captives were allowed to return to Israel from Babylon. Once there, the returned exiles began the work of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was completed in 516 BC. MacArthur explains, “Zechariah and Haggai were commissioned by the Lord to stir up the people to rebuild the temple.”³

MacArthur compared the two prophets:

“Haggai’s primary purpose was to rebuild the temple; his preaching has a tone of rebuke for the people’s indifference, sin, and lack of trust in God. He was used to start the revival, while Zechariah was used to keep them going strong with a more positive emphasis, calling the people to repentance and reassuring them regarding future blessings.”⁴

Zechariah is the most apocalyptic book in the Old Testament and had a message for the returning exiles as well as for the future.

TEACHING

Zechariah 1:1-6: The Lord came to the prophet Zechariah because He was extremely angry with Zechariah’s ancestors (vv. 1–2). God called for the people to return to Him so He could return to them (v. 3). God told the people not to be like their ancestors who did not heed the prophets’ warning to return to Him (v. 4). God asked where those ancestors were and where the prophets who had delivered the rejected messages were (v. 5). They had all died.

Zechariah 1:7–11: In verse 7, the language changes, and Zechariah began to describe eight visions he had in one night. Remember that visions happen while wide awake, while dreams happen while sleeping. Through visions, God showed Zechariah something that happened directly in front of him. These visions were supposed to bring comfort to the people. The first vision was of a man riding a red horse under the myrtle trees. Behind the man were red, sorrel, and white horses (vv. 7–8). MacArthur explains, “The colors may speak of the work of the riders: red speaking of bloodshed and judgment, white speaking of victory, and sorrel or a brownish color is possibly a combination of the others.”⁵ Zechariah asked about what he was seeing, and an angel said he would explain (v. 9). The man who had ridden the red horse said the horses had been sent by the Lord to patrol the earth (v. 10). MacArthur describes them as “a symbolic, military description of angelic movement patrolling and reconnoitering on a global scale. The purpose is to ascertain the state of the enemy and to respond to God’s will in engaging that enemy triumphantly.”⁶ They reported to the Angel of the Lord (probably the pre-incarnate Christ) that the whole earth was calm and quiet (v. 11). Through this vision, God promised prosperity for Israel.

Zechariah 1:12–17: The Angel of the Lord asked God how long He would continue to withhold His mercy from Judah (v. 12). God replied with words of comfort to the angel (v. 13). This is an interaction between Jesus, the pre-incarnate Christ, and God His Father (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25). God explained He still loved Judah and Jerusalem and was extremely angry with the nations who went against them (vv. 14–15). Therefore God would bring prosperity back to Jerusalem and to His cities in Zion (vv. 16–17). Since myrtle trees were associated with the booths for the Festival of Booths, this vision pointed to God’s continued blessing and protection on His people. In Isaiah 41 and 55, myrtle trees were also connected to the Messianic blessing.⁷

Zechariah 1:18–20: The second vision was of four horns, which were “a symbol of power and pride.”⁸ Zechariah was told they were the horns that scattered all of Israel (vv. 18–19), probably referring to Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Then Zechariah was shown four craftsmen who had come to terrify the nations that had scattered Judah (vv. 20–21). In this, God promised to judge the nations who attacked Israel.

Zechariah 2: The third vision was of a man with a measuring line (vv. 1–3). This was to show God’s plan to rebuild and reestablish Jerusalem and God would dwell there again (vv. 10–16).

Zechariah 3: The fourth vision was of the high priest and a branch (vv. 1–7). This shows a cleansing that God would use with the high priest and the people of Israel as God rescued them (v. 8). McGee explains, “Neither Joshua nor Israel were contenders with Satan while clothed in their own righteousness. They must be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Even a new patch on the old garment will not avail.”⁹ “My servant, the Branch” is another reference to Jesus (v. 8), and verse 10 points to the coming age.

Zechariah 4: The fifth vision was of the gold lampstand and two olive trees to show that God would rebuild the temple through Zerubbabel (vv. 1–7).

CLOSING

All of this will be reestablished in God’s plan. Zechariah 12:10 says: “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at Me whom they pierced.” We’ll unpack that as we move through the rest of the book of Zechariah.