Intro to Zechariah

Introduction

We conclude our overviews of the OT prophets with Zechariah. Zechariah prophesied at the same time as Haggai and helped encourage the people to rebuild the temple after they returned from exile. Whereas Haggai is much shorter and focuses exclusively on encouraging the rebuild, as well as talking about Zerubbabel, Zechariah is a much longer book that is concerned with the sin of the people. His focus is encouraging them to repent and remember their covenant.

Background on Zechariah

The background is basically identical to Haggai (and later Malachi). But the book is much more intensive.

The book tells us the lineage of Zechariah, a rarity for OT prophets, and he was connected to a priestly family. His name means “Yahweh Remembers”.

This is fitting given the context of his ministry. The people were spiritually despondent. It had taken 20 years to build the temple, and judging by the contents of the book, they were falling back into sin and forgetting the covenant. Every time Zechariah’s name is mentioned, it’s a literal reminder that despite their forgetfulness, “Yahweh Remembers”.

There were two leaders at the time of the return from exile: Zerubabbel the governor, and Joshua the High Priest. Haggai pronounced a prophecy over Zerubbabel that was fulfilled in Christ. Zechariah will turn his attention to Joshua, also pronouncing prophecies on him.

As we’ll see, Zechariah contains many Messianic prophecies. Some are explicitly quoted in the New Testament regarding the life and ministry of Christ.

As I’ve mentioned before, to better understand the Book of Revelation, you should have a good understanding of the Old Testament, and especially the prophets. This is especially true of Zechariah. As we will see, there are many parallel themes between the two books. It is clear that John saw what Zech saw and reinterprets it in light of Christ and the Church.

What to expect when reading Zechariah

The book opens with a summary of Zechariah’s entire message: repent! The Lord tells them not to be like their fathers who wouldn’t sinned, and wouldn’t listen to the prophets.

From there the book launches into a series of visions which Zechariah sees that spans the first 6 chapters. As I mentioned, there are many parallels here with what John will later see in his Revelation.

I think John even structured the phrasing of Revelation to mimic Zechariah. They also share a similar conversational tone, where the prophet speaks with an angel to get explanations for the visions he’s seeing.

In the first vision (1:7-17), Zech sees four horsemen riding different colored horses. Their description is almost identical to the four horsemen John sees in Rev 6.

These horseman patrolled the earth and gave a report to the Lord that the nations were “at rest”. This leads to a cry for mercy on Jerusalem, to which the Lord promises that one day he will. This prophecy was fulfilled in Christ and the Church, which is the new and heavenly Jerusalem.

The second vision (1:18-20), Zech sees four horns and four craftsman. The four horns apparently symbolize kingdoms who had or would “scatter Judah, Israel and Jerusalem”. The precise identification of these “horns” is up for debate. But on the flip side, the four craftsman are a promise that God would punish those “horns”.

The third vision is that of a man with a measuring line, going to measure the length of Jerusalem.

Ezekiel had a similar vision. And in Revelation, John is also tasked with measuring the temple within the city.

The message that comes with this vision: one day “Jerusalem” will be a safe space, without any walls, and the Lord will dwell in its midst once again. Not only that, but “many nations” will also dwell there. This was fulfilled in Christ, who dwells with us even now through the Holy Spirit, and John promises that this will last for eternity.

The fourth vision concerns Joshua the High Priest. Joshua as a “type of Christ” can’t be anymore obvious. They share the same name, and as the author of Hebrews clearly articulates, Jesus is our Great High Priest.

The prophecy of Joshua fits Christ, the cross, and the Gospel, perfectly.

Zechariah 3:6–10 “And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.””

The fifth vision is of a golden lampstand with seven lamps and two olive trees on either side.

As we see in Revelation 1, lampstands symbolize God’s people (Israel in the OT, the Church in the NT).

The associate prophesy is about Zerubabbel who is credited as having “laid the foundation” of the temple. As we saw with Haggai, Jesus is a descendent of Zerubabbel and through him it can be said, “[Zerubabbel’s] hands complete [the temple].”

I love this prophecy: Zechariah 4:7 “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ ””

The sixth vision is of a flying scroll which contains a curse on the land and all those who steal and lie.

The seventh vision is of a basket with a woman in it. Her name is “wickedness”, and she symbolizes, you guessed it, wickedness in the land.

This also parallels the vision of the woman on the beast that John sees in Revelation. The same basic symbols apply.

There is a direct connection: in Revelation she is called Babylon. Zechariah 5:11 “He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.””

The Land of Shinar became Babylon. So from Zech to Revelation, we see a growth and evolution of this vision, and consequently the symbolism of wickedness becoming even greater.

The eighth and final vision is another vision of “four horsemen” although here they are full chariots. Again, very similar language here to what we see in Revelation.

The back half of Zechariah

After the visions, the rest of the book is a series of messages, sermons, and prophecies that cover a wide range of issues.

The first is another prophecy regarding Joshua the high priest. This time witnesses are brought in to witness a coronation. A very strange thing to happen to a priest! This prefigured that the Messiah would be both king and priest.

Zechariah 6:12–13 “And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” ’”

The second message revolves around a question of if the people should keep having regular “mourning fasts”.

The Lord reminds them that he has never wanted “sacrifices” (including fasts). He wants obedience and justice.

Zechariah 7:9–10 ““Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.””

The next message (Zech 8) is a prophecy of hope and promise that the Lord would one day restore Jerusalem and it would become a successful place where the Lord would dwell among his people and all the nations of the world would want to come to. Again, this is fulfilled in Christ and the Church.

Zech 9 is a prophecy of judgement on the enemies of God, and a promise of redemption for his people, highlighted by the promise of the coming King.

The Gospels specifically tie this prophecy to Jesus Christ.

Zechariah 9:9–10 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

Zech 10 is another prophecy against the enemies and leaders (shepherds) of the people, and hope of redemption. This is highlighted by the Lord promising to be the Messiah.

Zechariah 10:3–4 ““My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle. From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler—all of them together.”

Zech 11 is another prophecy against the corrupt leaders of the people, or “shepherds”.

The Lord makes Zechariah become a shepherd over this “doomed flock”. Zech carried around two staffs called Favor and Union. Symbolizing the Lord’s frustration with the people, he ends up breaking both staves. One symbolized the annulling of the covenant with the people and the other the annulment of the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

But tucked in this is a complaint by Zech to get paid his wages for this job. What was he paid? 30 pieces of silver. He ends up throwing them into the temple in frustration. Sound familiar? Matthew sees this as a prophecy later to be fulfilled in Judas’ betrayal of the Lord.

Zech 12 is a prophecy of the future Gospel spreading out from Jerusalem like wildfire across the entire world.

Zechariah 12:6 ““On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.”

There is also a directly reference prophecy in Zechariah 12:10 ““And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” (John quotes this twice, in his Gospel and in Revelation).

Zech 13 continues the prophecy and theme by demonstrating that “on that day” idolatry would be finally destroyed. But it would come at the cost of the shepherd being struck.

Zechariah 13:7 “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;” is quoted by the Gospels.

All of chapter 14 is a prophecy about the “Day of the Lord”. The words of this prophecy can be variously applied to Christ and the Church. But here are some highlights:

Zechariah 14:3–4 “Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.” (this is why everything Jesus does on the Mount of Olives is so important!)

The prophecy as a whole parallels and mirrors many aspects of the final vision of the heavenly Jerusalem that John sees in Revelation.

Zechariah 14:6 “On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.” (Revelation 21:23 “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” )

Zechariah 14:8 “On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.” (Revelation 22:1 “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” )

Zechariah 14:16 “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.” (Revelation 21:24 “By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,” )

And on and on.

Conclusion

It’s fitting that we conclude our overview of the prophets with the one that most closely parallels that very last book of the Bible. Zechariah is a longer book, with a lot going on. But it shows us in so many ways how the Lord Jesus Christ was prophesied well ahead of time, and consequently so was the Gospel and the Church.

And that’s what makes Zechariah and all the prophets relevant to us. Because their message ultimately was for us, the church!

1 Peter 1:10–12 “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.”