Sermon Tone Analysis

*INTRODUCTION*

\\ *1.

Last month we started our studies of the **prophecies **of Zechariah*

a.

We looked at message that God will respond to His people when they come to Him and repent.

b.    God reveals how He prepares His people, Israel, for the coming of the Messiah.

*2.

This book begins with God giving His Jewish people 7 **messages *

     a.

Messages about His power, love, wisdom and holiness,

     b.

God wanted them – us - to be prepared for the greatest event in all of creation.

c.

God wanted His people to be ready for the coming of the Messiah

 

*3.

In the first 6 chapters we are presented with 8 **visions*

     a.

All of which were seen on the same night

     b.

These were visions, not dreams;

     c.

Zechariah was fully awake when God gave him these visions.

\\ \\ *5.

The FIRST vision is of a **man **among the **myrtle **trees \\ *     a.

God’s people were in fear from the nations surrounding them

     b.

They had some very powerful enemies trying to oppress them

     c.

But God is assuring them that He is in charge of the affairs of all nations.

d.

God is not a distant creator.

i.

He did not make this world and the universe as we see it,

ii.

Then populate it with vegetation, fish, animals, insects and people

iii.

Then walk away and leave it to get on by itself.

c.    God is directly involved.

d.    God is a creator God who cares for and loves His creation.

e.

This is something that the children of God need to remember

a.    Israel is surrounded by many powerful enemies: Egyptians, Syrians, Iranians and Palestinians (Hamas)  

b.

Their enemies stretch out throughout the world.

/c.    /God is saying to them ‘/Yes, be on your guard, but do not fear.

I am in charge of all the affairs of the nations.

They cannot do anything to destroy My people.’

/

 

*Zechariah 2:13 (KJV) *Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

f.

We too are surrounded by powerful enemies, both physical and spiritual 

a.

We are constantly warned about terrorists.

b.

The politicians are raising our awareness of the problems with Iran and the North Koreans in their development of nuclear weapons.

g.

We need to heed the words of Paul and put on the whole armour of God

a.    Are we prepared for the daily battle with Satan ?

b.

We may say that we have peace in our land.

*3.

What happened in the FIRST vision?

(1:7-17) *

a.    Zechariah saw a man and group of riders in some myrtle trees.

b.

Many writers believe the man to be Jesus

c.

The myrtle tree is a symbol of Jerusalem.

d.

The "ravine" symbolizes Israel’s position among the nations.

e.    Amongst those riders is one on a red horse, who reports  

 

*Zechariah 1:11 (KJV) *And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.

a.

This is not good news.

b.

The Messiah will return during times of great trouble, not times of peace as proclaimed by Haggain (2:6-7)

f.

How long will God withhold His mercy from Jerusalem?

Let us look at the second vision.

*3.

The SECOND vision is of **four **horns  (1:18-21) \\ *    a.

The *four ‘horns’* represent the nations that had come to devastate Israel.

b.

The horns represent power.

c.

These nations were like bulldozers plowing their way through the land of Israel

    d.

Most commentators put the *four carpenters* along with the four horns

a.

They are very similar

 

*Zechariah 1:18-21 (KJV) *Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.

\\  And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What /be/ these?

And he answered me, These /are/ the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.

And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.

Then said I, What come these to do?

And he spake, saying, These /are/ the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up /their/ horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.

e.

The *four carpenters* are other pagan nations God uses, to destroy the ‘horns’,

    f.

The ‘horns’ and the ‘carpenters’ are used by God to punish unrepentant Israel

\\ *4.

The THIRD vision is of a surveyor (2:1-13) \\ *    a.

Next we see a man who is going to measure Jerusalem.

a.    Again later described as the Angel of the Lord – Jesus

b.    Zech.

6:12 Zechariah describes Jesus as a man – Hebrew ‘ish’

    b.

Zechariah would have known that the city had grown;

            a.