Zechariah 1v1-6

Call to Repentance

Introduction

The 50,000 Jews who returned, under the governorship of Zerubbabel and the High Priesthood of Joshua, immediately began to build the new temple, although they soon became discouraged and stopped. Then, in 520 bc, God sent two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai’s task was to rouse the people to continue the task they had started sixteen years earlier. Zechariah’s task was to convince the people to accompany that work with a complete spiritual change, the fruit of which could be seen, at least in part, in the rebuilding of the temple.[1]

1. Zechariah v1

Thirty-one men in the Bible have the name Zechariah, which means “the Lord remembers.” (See Zech. 10:9 and Luke 1:72.) The Prophet Zechariah was a young man when he wrote this book (Zech. 2:4), so he must have been born in Babylon and come to Judah with Zerubbabel in 537.

His father, Berechiah, probably died young, and his grand-father Iddo adopted him and raised him (Zech. 1:1; Ezra 6:14). Iddo was a priest (Neh. 12:1–4, 16), so Zechariah was both a prophet and a priest, like Ezekiel and John the Baptist.’ He began to preach about two months after Haggai began his ministry (Hag. 1:1) and a little over a month after the Jews resumed the work of rebuilding their temple (Hag. 1:15; Ezra 5:2).

2. History v2

The Historical Background of Zechariah. The fall of Jerusalem to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 bc marked the finale of the kingdom of Judah, much as the earlier defeat at the hands of the Assyrians in 722 bc brought to an end the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Most of Jerusalem’s inhabitants were deported to Babylon for a period of about 70 years, as prophesied by the Prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11; 29:10). During this Exile the Prophet Daniel received the revelation that Gentile kingdoms would be dominant over Judah and Israel until God would set up His kingdom on the earth under the rule of the Messiah (Dan. 2; 7). This period was referred to by Jesus Christ as ”the times of the Gentiles“ (Luke 21:24).

When the Babylonian Empire fell to the Persian Empire (539 b.c.), Cyrus the Great decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple (Ezra 1:2-4; cf. Isa. 44:28). However, only a small minority of about 50,000 Jews (including Haggai and Zechariah) returned under the leadership of Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest (Ezra 2). Levitical sacrifices were soon reinstituted on a rebuilt altar of burnt offering (Ezra 3:1-6), and in the second year of their return the foundation of the temple was laid (Ezra 3:8-13; 5:16). However, external oppression and internal depression halted the rebuilding of the temple for about 16 more years of spiritual apathy till the rule of the Persian King Darius Hystaspis (522-486 b.c.). In the second regnal year of Darius (520 b.c.) God raised up Haggai the prophet to encourage the Jews in rebuilding (Ezra 5:1-2; Hag. 1:1). Haggai preached four sermons in four months and then disappeared from the scene. Two months after Haggai delivered his first sermon, Zechariah began his prophetic ministry (cf. Hag. 1:1; Zech. 1:1), encouraging the people to spiritual renewal and motivating them to rebuild the temple by revealing to them God’s plans for Israel’s future. With this prophetic encouragement the people completed the temple reconstruction in 515 b.c. (Ezra 6:15). The dated portions of Zechariah’s prophecy fall within the period of the rebuilding of the temple. The undated prophecies of Zechariah 9-14 were probably written much later in his ministry.

The following summary compares significant dates in the ministries of Haggai and Zechariah (cf. the chart ”Chronology of the Postexilic Period,“ near Ezra 1:1):

Zechariah begins with the most emphatic statement one could make: “The Lord has been very angry with your fathers” (v. 2). The verb “has been angry” is emphasized by a noun made up of the same consonants as the verb. It is high time Israel recognized this fact.[2]

God is, of course, a God of love; this we must stress. But we must not lose sight of the fact that His infinitely holy character demands that He be angry with sin. In fact, it is a mark of a sick society when we are willing to listen only to pronouncements of God’s love and not to messages that also declare God’s wrath with sin. The Lord is “slow to anger” (Nah. 1:3), but persons must not view His patience as a weakness or hesitance to deal with sin; God will deal with sin (2 Pet. 3:9). Both testaments affirm God’s wrath as well as His Love (Ex. 34:6–7; Deut. 7:7–11; John 3:16, 36).[3]

Nahum 1:3

3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power;

the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.

His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,

and clouds are the dust of his feet.

2 Peter 3:9

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Exodus 34:6-7

6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

Deuteronomy 7:7-11

7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. 10 But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.

11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

John 3:16

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.

John 3:36

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

3. Repent v3

This text, which G. L. Robinson has called “one of the strongest and most intensely spiritual calls to repentance to be found in the Old Testament,”7 issues four summons to repentance for all peoples in all ages. It was delivered three months before the eight night visions that follow in 1:7 to 6:8. It has now been eighteen years since Cyrus issued his famous decree (538 bc) allowing the Jews to return to their land.[4]

The simple, but profound, solution to Israel’s current state of sin was to “return” (v. 3) to the Lord. No other single word epitomized the prophets more accurately than this single word to “turn,” or “return.” In all of Scripture that is the one prerequisite to receiving any of God’s blessings.

The summons to “return” is God’s call to us to reverse our directions; when we are following our own goals and aims God asks us to do a 180 degree turn and make Him the goal and aim of our lives.[5]

Isaiah 55:6-7

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call on him while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake his way

and the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Zechariah 2:12-13

12 The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”

Malachi 3:7

7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

Matthew 3:2

2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Matthew 4:17

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Acts 2:38

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 3:19

19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Acts 5:31

31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

Acts 17:30

30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

Acts 20:21

21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

Acts 26:20

20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.

2 Corinthians 7:10

10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

4. Respond v4

The Fathers

Zechariah 1:2

2 “The Lord was very angry with your forefathers.

Zechariah 1:4

4 Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.

Zechariah 1:5

5 Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, do they live for ever?

Zechariah 1:6

6 But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your forefathers?

“Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’ ”

What do any of us learn from history? Is history “bunk,” as Henry Ford suggested? Or is history “His-story”? Surely, it is risky business to waste the lessons of previous generations.

God waits patiently for each succeeding generation to weigh the calamities and blessings of the past. If any generation will heed the words to “turn” to God, or heed the growing storm clouds that forewarn of the certain coming judgment of God, He will forgive.[6]

5. Realise v5

But look how fleeting life is! Neither the prophets nor the fathers lived forever! Most of them are gone; and so will all mortals eventually be.

If there is so little time in which to do anything for the glory of God, how important it is that we should do so now while we still have life and breath.[7]

6. Rely v6

If the prophets seemed to be fragile and transitory, God’s Word did not partake of either liability. Verse 6 begins with a strong adversative[i] that could also be translated as “Nevertheless.” And it is that permanence, immutability or unchangeableness of the Word of God and His purpose that distinguishes them from His servants the prophets.

If only we would learn to distinguish between the weakness and fragility of the best of God’s servants and the abiding veracity and eternal effectiveness of the message that these prophets bring! Over the years we have been brought many startling revelations about the failures of some of the more famous televangelists and pastors of our day. But our trust must not be in televangelists or pastors; it is to be in the Lord who sent them and in the truthfulness of the word that they speak, for that word belongs to God.[8]

Deuteronomy 28:15

Curses for Disobedience

15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

Deuteronomy 28:45

45 All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you.

1 Peter 1:25

25 but the word of the Lord stands for ever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

Isaiah 40:6-8

6 A voice says, “Cry out.”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All men are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.

7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,

because the breath of the Lord blows on them.

Surely the people are grass.

8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God stands for ever.”

Psalm 33:6

6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,

their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

Psalm 33:9

9 For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

Jeremiah 23:29

29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

Conclusion

Turn to the Lord.

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[1]Kaiser, W. C., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1992). Vol. 23: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 23 : Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (302). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.

[2]Kaiser, W. C., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1992). Vol. 23: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 23 : Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (302). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.

[3]Kaiser, W. C., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1992). Vol. 23: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 23 : Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (303). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.

7 Robinson, “Zechariah,” V: 3137.

[4]Kaiser, W. C., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1992). Vol. 23: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 23 : Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (302). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.

[5]Kaiser, W. C., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1992). Vol. 23: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 23 : Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (303). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.

[6]Kaiser, W. C., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1992). Vol. 23: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 23 : Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (305). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.

[7]Kaiser, W. C., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1992). Vol. 23: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 23 : Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (305). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.

[8]Kaiser, W. C., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1992). Vol. 23: The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volume 23 : Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. Formerly The Communicator's Commentary. The Preacher's Commentary series (306). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.