Zechariah

What is Israel?

A people, a kingdom, and a promise

But where are we in the story?

Zechariah 1:1 “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:”

This (522-486) is not the same Darius the Mede, that we read about in Daniel. That’s important because we are at the end of the 70 years of Babylonian captivity. They had figured out from Daniel and Jeremiah’s prophesies that the captivity was supposed to last 70 years. We are right at that end point when they are literally asking, “Is today the day?”

A people

Separated from God

Zechariah 1:2-3 “2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. 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.”

A kingdom

Kings who served idols

Zechariah 10:3 “3 “My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord Almighty will care for his flock, the people of Judah, and make them like a proud horse in battle.”

A promise

A covenant revoked and the land desolate

Zechariah 7:10-14 “10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ 11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry. 13 “ ‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’ ””

Zechariah 11:7-11 “7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.”

Where is the story going to go?

A people?

Holiness restored

Zechariah 2:12 “12 The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem.”

Purity restored

Zechariah 3:3-4 “3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.””

Zechariah 3:9 “9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.”

A kingdom?

Temple: What’s next? God is going to take the throne and the priesthood.

Zechariah 6:11-13 “11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak. 12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’”

He’s coming to proclaim peace

Zechariah 9:9-10 “9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

All nations will be His people

Zechariah 2:10-11 “10 “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.”

A promise?

Prosperity/blessing: What’s next? God is going to restore their calling.

Zechariah 1:17 “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.’ ””

Zechariah 8:13 “13 Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.””

God is going to personally defend His people

Zechariah 2:4-5 “4 and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. 5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’”

God is going to redeem His people

Zechariah 10:6 “6 “I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.”

Zechariah 10:8 “8 I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before.”

Application

The next thing that’s going to happen to Israel is Jesus. Jesus is going to unify the throne and the priesthood, by being King and High priest. He’s going to come humbly proclaiming peace. He’s going to restore Israel’s calling to be a blessing to the nations. He’s going to rebuild the temple and personally protect His kingdom. He’s going to choose His people again.

How will Israel respond?

Zechariah 12:10 “10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” … Zechariah 13:1 “1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.”

What to we do with that? Good for Israel...

Romans 2:28-29 “28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.”

Romans 8:14-17 “14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

Romans 9:6-8 “6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”

Romans 11:17-18 “17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.”

Galatians 3:26-29 “26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Action

When you are grafted into the family of God, through faith - which is to call on the work of Jesus- here’s what you should expect happens next.

God will make you holy set apart for good works.

God will take off the rags of your life, that are stained with regret and put on robes of purity

He is personally going to be your king and your priest

He is going to proclaim peace and spiritual prosperity to you and through you to all nations

He is going to personally defend you

And though you pierced Him, on that day a fountain sprung forth that cleansed you

That is what Israel was about to experience, they were about to experience the gospel.

John 3:16-17 “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”