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Part
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Introduction to the
Message of Zechariah...
To
write a commentary on the book of Zechariah is
not easy. However, we are assured that Zechariah
was inspired of God to give the message that he
uttered. The first half of the commentary
describes a series of visions that are quite
diverse, and yet an angel gives a meaning to
each vision. The last half of Zechariah is
filled with some of the most momentous
prophecies of the coming Messiah. Zechariah
seems to stand on a mountain equipped with a
long rang telescope able to penetrate the
centuries down to the advent and ministry of the
Messiah. Most often he prefaces his remarks
with, IN THAT DAY, and then he describes some
event of such mysterious magnitude that it bears
evidence of his inspiration. An example is
Zechariah 13:1, IN THAT DAY there shall be a
fountain opened to the house of David and for
the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for
uncleanness.” Thus Zechariah jubilantly
proclaims in words of poetic truth and grandeur;
that Christ would provide for man’s atonement
through this prophetic cleansing fountain.
There may be things of
less gripping interest as we follow the path
that leads to Zechariah’s emphasis on the
Messiah, but we hope you will stay with us until
we arrive at the message he conveys. The Book of
Zechariah is not the easiest book to unfold. The
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia in
Vol. 5, pages 3136-3137 says, “Few books of the
Old Testament are as difficult of interpretation
as the book of Zechariah; no other book is as
Messianic…The scope of Zechariah’s vision and
the profundity of his thought are almost without
parallel…His book is the most Messianic, the
most truly apocalyptic and eschatological, of
all the writings in the Old Testament…The
returned captives from Babylon were feeling
disheartened and depressed because Jehovah had
not made it possible to restore Zion. Haggai had
given them real initiative and the work of
rebuilding was begun under him. It was left to
Zechariah to complete the structure, and this
was his primary work.”
While it is apparent that
the message of Zechariah does present some
difficulties and differences of interpretation,
we should not neglect its message on that
account. There are many plain and profound
statements. Zechariah was definitely inspired to
write as he did. This is emphasized by his
frequent appeals to Divine utterance, ”And the
Lord said unto me,” Zech. 12:15, and “Thus saith
the Lord of hosts,” Zech. 8:4.
In
the later chapters of Zechariah there is a
constant reference to “In the Last Day”. This
invariably refers to the Day of the Messiah and
the quotations are frequently referred to in the
New Testament, as we shall see. Zechariah is
reputed to have died a martyr’s death. Men who
have dared to tell the truth have often had to
forfeit their lives in all ages. But truth lives
on. Judged by what Zechariah did, his
achievements were monumental. Judged by what he
said, especially as the mouthpiece of God, his
words can only be described as immortal,
perpetual, unfading and imperishable. His
influence is of endless duration. We do well to
ponder what the message of Zechariah was all
about as it unfolds God’s plan through the ages.
Chapter One
How Zechariah Views the
Messiah...
Zechariah is the eleventh
of the Minor Prophets. The name means “Whom
Jehovah Remembers”. It was a popular Hebrew
name, for we find twenty-seven men in the Old
Testament called Zechariah. The Zechariah we are
concerned with was of priestly descent. He was
born in Babylon during the seventy years
captivity, but came to Jerusalem under the
leadership of Zerubbable, a name that means,
“Jehovah is Salvation”. This is the name the
Greeks changed to Jesus. Zechariah became a
prophet as well as a priest about the same time
as Haggai, although Haggai preceded Zechariah by
two months. Zechariah, as well as his father,
Berechiah, and grandfather, Iddo, were all
priests.
When
the Jews came back from Babylon, not all of them
returned and those that did return found their
city in utter ruin. There was constant
opposition to their efforts to rebuild the
temple and the city. Haggai, the prophet stirred
the people along with Zechariah. To these should
be added the great influence of Ezra and
Nehemiah. History marks this tremendous
undertaking to have occurred in the years, 520
B.C. to 515 B.C., although the first contingent
of Jews returned about 536 B.C. It is
interesting to note the way time was marked in
the Old Testament. Zechariah begins with, “in
the eighth month, in the second year of Darius,
came the word of the Lord to Zechariah”. Zech.
1:1. Again in Zech. 7:1, we read, “And it came
to pass in the fourth year of King Darius…” In
Amos 1:1 we read, “The word of Amos…two years
before the earthquake.” No doubt these events
were very well known at the time, but history
has a more reliable method of marking time
events now. Time is now measured either Before
Christ or Anno Domini, which means in the year
of our Lord. We are quite sure that the years
A.D. are relatively correct, except in
ascertaining the dates; the calendar maker
discovered the birth of Christ was 4 B.C., which
showed a permanent error in the dating of our
calendar. There are, however, many uncertainties
about dates given in the Old Testament like:
“The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen
of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the
days of Uzziah King of Judah, and in the days of
Jeroboam the son of Joash King of Israel, two
years before the earthquake.” No doubt that
particular earthquake was of sufficient
intensity to mark the year for contemporaries,
but the exact year, as well as many other events
have had to be fixed. Zechariah fixed his date
of prophecy by referring to Darius---it began
when God appeared to him in “the eighth month,
in the second year of Darius.
From
information provided it appears that Zechariah
was born in Chaldea, but came to Jerusalem when
Cyrus, King of Persia, gave permission for the
Jews to return to Jerusalem. It should be noted,
however, the return was after seventy years
captivity in Babylon as prophesied by Jeremiah.
We also note that Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Haggai and
Zechariah were priests and that Haggai and
Zechariah were contemporaries. Zerubbabel was of
the kingly lineage of David and he was leader of
the group.
Zechariah is the longest
book of the Minor Prophets, and in many ways it
is the most obscure. We are confronted with
visions and angels, with apocalyptic
observations and a very strong reference to the
Messiah, who is also introduced as the Branch,
or Sprout of David. It is characteristic of
Bible writers that the nearer they approach the
time of the advent of the Messiah, the stronger
and clearer are the references to His Advent.
While all the books of the Old Testament in some
way portray the coming Messiah, the emphasis in
Isaiah and Zechariah is most emphatic. This is
in harmony with Revelation 19:10, which says,
“Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the
Spirit of Prophecy”. We will refer to many of
these observations as we proceed with the
prophecy.
Zechariah begins his
prophecy with a call to repentance. He says,
“Don’t be like your fathers who hardened their
hearts and resisted Jehovah obstinately, and as
a result suffered exile in Babylon”. (Zech. 1:4)
Notice, however, that God’s arrangements are
reciprocal and conditional. “If thou wilt walk
in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge,
then thou shalt also judge my house…” (Zech.
3:7) In Mal. 3:7 it says, “Return unto me, and I
will return unto you, saith the Lord…” This is
confirmed in James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God and He
will draw nigh to you”. We are invited into
close fellowship with God, but that fellowship
is conditional in every instance.
The
prophecy of Zechariah begins in the first
chapter at verse 7. Evidently it is what made a
deep impression on Zechariah, for he remembered
the date explicitly. Zechariah was confronted
with eight separate visions in the course of one
night. A vision differs from a dream in that a
vision comes when you are wide-awake. A dream
comes when you are asleep. The dictionary
describes a vision as something seen in the
imagination.
Perhaps we should briefly
examine the Jerusalem that Zechariah (together
with Haggai, Ezra and Nehemiah) saw. It was a
picture of utter gloom. The walls of the city
were a mere pile of rubble. Destruction had been
heaped upon every dwelling. The once magnificent
temple of Solomon was devastated beyond
recognition. They were surrounded; by angry
opponents; who threatened them with warlike
derision at every move they made. But there was
also encouragement given. Perhaps no other book
in the Bible is strewn with such words as “Thus
says Jehovah, and the Word of the Lord came unto
Zehcariah”. In the eighth chapter, Zechariah
appeals to Jehovah at least sixteen times to
show that he, Jehovah, is the source of the
message.
Chapter Two
The First Vision...
In
the first vision, Zechariah saw different
colored horses with men riding upon them. They
were among some myrtle trees at the bottom of a
valley. This may have been meant to show the low
estate of Israel at that time. But the duty of
the horse riders is give by the angel that
talked with Zechariah. The horsemen were
delegated to walk to and fro through the earth.
God watches over all the earth. Nothing happens
by accident among nations. The myrtle trees are
still plentiful in Palestine…they are a
log-flowering shrub. The horses were of
different colors, which may be significant, but
the reason is not given. The prophet seems
impatient at finding Jerusalem still so
humiliated and he longs to know why, to which
the Lord answered that the future is bright and
God will yet rebuild the city with the aid of
His trusting servants.
Vision Number Two...
The
second vision given to Zechariah shows horns.
Zechariah was told by the angel that these horns
symbolized the heathen, which persecuted Israel.
He was then shown four carpenters, which
Zechariah was curious about. Zechariah was told
that these carpenters where coming to “fray” the
heathen. Fray is a word no longer used, but it
means to make afraid, to cause to tremble; fill
with consternation. This is the second step
taken by God to fulfill His purpose and promise
toward Jerusalem. The carpenters are simply men
capable of building up what the horns destroyed.
Vision Number Three...
The
third vision of Zechariah is most significant.
It begins with a man holding a measuring line in
his hand. The purpose of this is to measure the
city of Jerusalem. There is some mystery about
the measurements of this city for it specifies
the length and breath, but the wall is,
Divine…in that God encircles it with a wall of
fire. We are reminded of Ezekiel’s vision where
he also saw a man in white measuring the temple.
He found the measuring reed like a rod that
specified an entrance one reed long by one reed
broad, and individual chambers that were one
reed long by one reed broad and one reed high.
The reed is obviously God’s Word. In the new
temple we gain entrance by going the Bible way.
When we are inside we find God’s Word measures
each occupant. Our lives must be “one Bible
long”, “one Bible broad” and “one Bible deep”.
The one who does the measuring uses the
plumbline or plummer. In God’s church there is
no room made for crooked people or misfits. All
the church must be erect, straight. This tallies
with Eph. 3:18, which says, “we may be able to
comprehend with all saints what is the breath
and length, and depth and height…”. Paul gives
the dimensions but he does not say what he is
measuring. (But) We believe he is describing the
church, which is still in the process of being
built, but the exact size cannot be given until
the entire structure is finished. Until then,
its final wall is in the hand of God. Our
protection is invincible because it is
Omnipotence---protected by God.
A
call and a welcome, is extended to any sons of
Israel remaining in Babylon. They are invited to
return to Zion. But the prophet seems to go
beyond Jerusalem to Zion, which is mentioned in
Hebrews 12:24, “But ye are come unto Mount Zion,
and unto the city of the living God, the
Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable
company of angels”. This is the Jerusalem spoken
of in Gal. 4:26, “But Jerusalem which is above
is free, which is the Mother of us all”.
Chapter Three
Vision Number Four...
This
fourth vision is Messianic. First of all it
portrays the conflict between Joshua and Satan.
Jesus Christ is always shown as the antithesis
of Satan. In Scripture, God is the antithesis of
the world, and the Holy Spirit is the antithesis
of the flesh. They are always shown in this
pattern throughout the Bible.
Thus
we have Joshua, the high priest who represents
Christ, with Satan at his right hand to resist
him. Thus we read in 1 John 3:8, “For this
purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He
might destroy the work of the devil”. Satan is
rebuked by Joshua, who states that “Jerusalem is
a Brand plucked out of the fire.” This indicates
that Jerusalem has gone through sever trials and
is preserved by the hand of God.
Next
we observe that Joshua is clothed with filthy
garments as he stood before the angel. These
filthy garments are symbolic of the sins of the
nation he represented. The Bible says, “All our
righteousness is as filthy rags”, so that we
need to be cleansed. The next representation is
that of Joshua being cleansed from his filthy
garments. This is typical of the cleansing of
being born again and thus becoming a child of
God. We simply give up our sins and accept the
robes of righteousness provided by God. The
comment in Zechariah is, “Behold, I have caused
this iniquity to pass from thee and I will
clothe thee with change of raiment”.
Then
Joshua, the High Priest, was given a mitre,
which was the headdress of the High Priest, and
the angel of the Lord gave this condition, “If
thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep
My charge, then thou shalt also judge my house,
and shall also keep my courts, and I will give
thee places to walk among these that stand by”.
We will notice here that there are conditions to
be observed meticulously in our relationship
with God. The responsibility of keeping the
charge and of judging the house is conditioned
by obeying God in every detail.
There are still two very
important observations in this vision that was
given to Zechariah. One is in chapter 4:8, which
says, ”God will bring forth my Servant the
Branch”. There are several references in both
Jeremiah and Isaiah to the Branch, and in every
case they refer to the Messiah. Along with this
is the declaration that a stone is laid before
Joshua. “Upon one stone shall be seven eyes.”
The seven eyes indicate that God is watching
over His people perfectly at all times. They
show that God’s care is complete, infinite and
eternal. In Psa. 17:8, David prayed, “Keep me as
the apple of thine eye”. And in Zech. 2:8 we
read, “For thus saith the Lord; after the glory
he has sent me unto the nations which spoiled
you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple
of his eye”. The apple or pupil of the eye is
the most sensitive part, so God’s care of His
people reaches to the most sensitive part.
Vision Number Five...
We
now come to vision number five. This vision
begins with a question. The angel of the Lord
asks Zechariah what he sees. The answer is that
he sees a candlestick. This candlestick is fed
by seven pipes, and besides the candlestick are
two olive trees. This would indicate there is
ample oil, especially when there is an
ever-renewable source by the presence of the two
olive trees. We should keep in mind that
Zerubbabel is faced with a gigantic task, that
of rebuilding Jerusalem. He is faced with almost
insurmountable difficulties. It is with this
background that we read in Zech. 4:6, “Not by
might nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the
Lord of hosts.” We can see by this that the
prophet is looking beyond the immediate task at
Jerusalem, and is showing that the building of
God’s temple, of which the one in Jerusalem was
a type, was a work that was accomplished by the
hand and the power of God. Zechariah is made
aware that his task cannot be achieved by armies
or by the influence of finances derived from
secular sources. His ultimate resource is from
God Almighty.
A
further example of this is that Zerubbabel
called attention to the mountains that were on
either side. These he considered would be
overcome by the power of God, and the completion
of the temple would reduce such mountains to the
normal condition of a plain. It should be
observed that Zechariah said there would be
“shouting” upon the completion of the temple,
“Grace, grace, unto it.” Once again we notice
that it is not something accomplished by man,
but it is and accomplishment of God, which
causes us to shout for joy at the prominence
given to Grace, God’s unmerited favor.
We
examine the work of Zerubbabel further and
notice that Zerubbabel almost boasts that he
laid the foundation, and that he will complete
it, and in this connection we read verse 10,
“For who despised the day of small things?” We
should observe that Zerubbabel is building a
temple in Jerusalem and he is aware that it is
insignificant compare with the temple in
Solomon, which was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.
The temple of Solomon was one of the wonders of
ancient history, and the temple of Zerubbabel
was in comparison, very insignificant indeed,
but God said, “Who hath despised the day of
small things?” While the temple of Solomon had
the magnificence and outward grandeur to excite
the admiration and the wonder of its
worshippers, it was the temple of Zerubbabel
that had the honor to welcome the Messiah and
listen to His wonderful teaching. By comparison,
in this sense, the temple of Zerubbabel far
outranked the temple of Solomon.
Vision Number Six...
The
sixth vision of Zechariah depicted a flying
scroll, and the dimensions of the scroll seemed
to be very significant. The scroll measured 20
cubits long by ten cubits wide. This was the
size of the sanctuary, and was also the size of
the entrance to the tabernacle. The inner
sanctuary was called the Holy of Holies and
holiness was required of the ones who worshipped
there. In Lev. 20:7 we read, “Sanctify
yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am
the Lord you God.” This exhortation is mentioned
on many occasions.
It
is mentioned that the scroll contained a curse
written on both sides and this indicates that
the law was broken, as the Bible says, “All have
sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
(Rom. 3:23) The sad conclusion of the human race
is summed up in Rom. 3:10, “As it is written,
there is none righteous, no, not one.” We are
all under condemnation as far as the old
covenant is concerned. There had to be a new and
living way provided. It is significant that with
Adam’s fall into sin we have all been under the
curse, and the last word in the Old Testament in
the King James Version, is the word, “curse”.
The first name in the New Testament is Jesus
Christ, the name of the One who lifts the curse,
and provides the way to a new relationship
between God and man.
Vision Number Seven...
This
vision is introduced by an angel of God telling
the prophet to lift his eyes. When the prophet
obeyed, he is asked what he sees. Zechariah
responded that He see an ephah, that goeth
forth. An ephah is a measure of capacity shaped
like a basket or barrel and used for measuring
flour or barley. It would amount to three pecks,
American measure. In this case the size is not
important, for there is a woman sitting in the
midst of the ephah, and there is a lid on the
ephah composed of lead, so when someone lifts
the lid of the ephah it reveals the woman below.
This woman symbolizes wickedness, which
enshrouds Israel and Judah.
A
further revelation shows two women with the
winds in their wings. These wings are said to be
like the wings of a stork, which indicated they
were very strong. They lifted up the ephah
between earth and heaven. Zechariah asked the
angel whither do these bear the ephah, and he
was told to build a house in the land of Shinar
and it shall be established and set there upon
her own base. There is some mystery to this
vision, which we will have to speculate upon. We
remember that the Bible frequently compares the
winds to the influence of the Holy Spirit. The
fact that these two women were capable of
removing this ephah from the land of Judah to
Shinar, could have reference to the Day of
Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came with the
sound of mighty rushing wind and prevailed over
wickedness, and the people were given a new
relationship with God.
The
land of Shinar happens to be the place where
Nimrod was located and everything connected with
Nimrod was rebellion against God and against the
people of God. The fact that the Holy Spirit on
the Day of Pentecost overcame wickedness was
like taking the wicked woman away to Shinar
where she was placed on her own base, and this
indicated that righteousness had prevailed over
established wickedness. At Pentecost there was a
separation between believers and unbelievers. [
Continued...link below ]
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