Zechariah 1

Study Guide 77: Zechariah WORDS OF HOPE Overview Zechariah is called “ the prophet of hope.” He looks at the future for the Jewish people during the coming centuries of pagan empire, and to the age of Messiah.

Outline Part I I. Introduction: A Call to ReturnZec_1:1-6 II. Eight Visions and Oracles1:7-6:15

1. False securityZec_1:7-17
2. RetributionZec_1:18-21
3. ProtectionZec_2:1-13
4. High priest ordainedZec_3:1-10
5. ResourcesZec_4:1-14
6. Punishment of evilZec_5:1-4
7. PurificationZec_5:5-11
8. Priest/King unitedZec_6:1-15 III. Messages on Fasting7:1-8:19
9. The questionZec_7:1-3
10. First sermonZec_7:4-14
11. Relevant sayingsZec_8:1-8
12. Second sermonZec_8:9-17
13. AnswerZec_8:18-19 IV. Conclusion: Longing for GodZec_8:20-23

Part II V. God’ s Intervention9:1-11:17

1. TriumphZec_9:1-8
2. The King arrivesZec_9:9-10
3. Prosperity9:11-10:1
4. Rebuke of leadersZec_10:2-3
5. Restoration10:3-11:3
6. Good Shepherd’ s FateZec_11:4-17 VI. Final Intervention of God12:1-14:21
7. Jerusalem rejoicesZec_12:1-9
8. The One pierced12:10-13:1
9. Leaders rejectedZec_13:2-6
10. Shepherd killedZec_13:7-9
11. CataclysmZec_14:1-15
12. Lord, King of allZec_14:16-21 Commentary While Daniel in Babylon was being given the “ coming Prince” prophecy of Daniel 9:1-27, God spoke to the little community in Palestine by the Prophet Zechariah. With his contemporary Haggai, Zechariah was used by God to stimulate the completion of the temple. Even more, he brought words of hope to the Jews. Daniel warned of hundreds of years under a succession of Gentile world-rulers. Zechariah stressed the continuing concern of the Lord for His people and the final vindication of the Jewish hope. Messiah would come, and all the families of the earth would appear at Jerusalem to worship Him (Zechariah 14:16). As we study what might be called the Old Testament’ s springtime teachings, we find several values in Zechariah’ s 14 chapters.

Major Themes Repeated When I taught Old Testament survey in the graduate school of Wheaton College, I used to give a pop quiz when we came to Zechariah. I asked my students to tell where they thought each of the following passages might be found: Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember Me. They and their children will survive, and they will return. 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. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. This was, of course, a “ trick” quiz. Each of these passages sounds very much like a theme from one of the prophets who lived and spoke in Israel or Judah before the Babylonian Captivity. These former prophets warned of a “ scattering among the nations” and told of a regathering to follow. They spoke of a change of heart associated with Messiah’ s coming. And they warned that enemy nations would assemble to battle and eventually would overwhelm Jerusalem. We might think that these prophecies were at least in part fulfilled in the Babylonian Captivity. Nebuchadnezzar’ s armies besieged and finally destroyed Jerusalem, and the people were scattered through pagan lands. God acted to bring back a remnant from the nations where they were scattered; the temple and city were rebuilt. But what is so striking about these prophecies is that each one comes from Zechariah (Zechariah 10:9; Zechariah 12:10; Zechariah 14:2). Each was spoken after the exiles had, in large part, already returned! Zechariah, looking ahead, saw essentially the same future for Judah that the earlier prophets had seen. The interlude in Babylon had not completely fulfilled the warnings of an end-time scattering and regathering, or of a great end-time war against God’ s people and His city. This is an illustration of what has been called the “ law of double reference.” Zechariah’ s generation could rightly see themselves in the portrait of judgment and restoration; yet the ultimate fulfillment of the prophetic word still looked beyond their own experience. How do we explain the repetition of these themes and the up-and-down experience of Judah? We see the earth as a stage on which God has set a drama to work out good and evil, the reconciliation of justice and love. The play has been written and the script placed in the actors’ hands. We can see in the Scripture the amazing resolution planned by the Author. But God does not wait for the final production to demonstrate His genius. History contains a number of dress rehearsals. The playwright’ s plan and the principles of reality that underlie the last act are woven into Judah’ s experience again and again so you and I can look back into history and see them illustrated. We can also look forward and understand what is to come. And we can invite the actors to the after-celebration He has always had in mind for them! The fact that the warnings, promises, and principles found in the pre-exilic prophets are also found in the postexilic prophets should not surprise us. No experience up until the arrival of destiny itself can exhaust the meaning of these prophets’ words. The ultimate focus of all prophecy is the time of the end. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Write the three verses quoted from Zechariah (Zechariah 10:9; Zechariah 12:10; Zechariah 14:2) on the board. Ask class members to guess (1) what the prophet is talking about, and (2) what prophet(s) wrote them. Listen to suggestions, and ask why a particular time or prophet was chosen. Then point out that each comes from Zechariah, using the chart below to highlight the implications.

Scattering and Return PRINCIPLEPRE-EXILEPOST-EXILE IsaiahIsa_11:11-12IsaiahIsa_66:20-22 Isaiah 14:1-3EzekielEze_39:25-29 DeuteronomyDeu_28:1-2JeremiahJer_16:14-16ZephaniahZep_3:14-20 Deuteronomy 28:13-15Jer_23:3-8ZechariahZec_8:4-8 Deuteronomy 28:36-37EzekielEze_11:17-21 Deuteronomy 28:45-46JoelJoe_3:17-21 AmosAmo_9:11-15 MicahMic_4:4-7 Forms of Prophecy Zechariah also illustrated the variety of forms in which Old Testament prophecies were given. Here we find vision and symbolic action, principles expressed in institutions like the temple, poetic expressions, prose statements, reports of experiences, and oracles delivered with the certainty of “ thus says the Lord.” Visions. The first part of the Book of Zechariah (chaps. 1-6) reports eight visions given to the prophet. These are in most cases either interpreted or applied by an angelic messenger. The vision of the flying scroll (Zechariah 5:1-4) was typical. Here Zechariah reported seeing a flying book, or scroll, about 30 feet by 15 feet in size! The angel explained: “ This is the curse that is going out over the whole land . . . every thief will be banished, and . . . everyone who swears falsely will be banished.” The Lord Almighty declares, “ I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It will remain in his house and destroy it, both its timbers and its stones” (Zechariah 5:3-4). Clearly God was acting in a distinct (and new?) way to administer justice severely and fairly. To what period of time does this vision apply? That is something we can’ t tell from the vision — but may be able to determine by looking at the broader context of the seven visions with which it is associated. Again, remember that the time factor in prophecy is normally open and relatively uncertain. Symbolic acts. The prophets often take as a starting point an institution, persons, or events from their own day as a launching pad for prophecy. Thus Joel, for instance, spoke of a great plague of locusts from his own time but used the devastation of the insects to portray the greater devastation that invading hordes would work on the Promised Land at history’ s end. In Zechariah 6:11 we hear the prophet told to make a crown of gold and silver and set it on the head of Joshua, the high priest. While there is direct reference to a role for Joshua in presiding over the restoration of the contemporary temple, there is clearly a typical meaning as well, in which Joshua stands for another Person yet to come. This is made clear immediately by the title “ the Branch,” which was recognized by the Jews as a messianic reference, for it was used in this way by Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 4:2) and Jeremiah (cf. Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15). What then was God saying about the Messiah through this incident and the words of coronation?

1. Messiah the Branch will build a future temple.
2. Messiah the Branch will rule as King.
3. Messiah the Branch will also have the office of Priest, uniquely combining these two roles.
4. Messiah the Branch will bring together Jew and Gentile in common worship of the Lord.
5. Messiah the Branch will fulfill prophecy and validate the revealed Word.
6. Messiah the Branch will bring in full obedience to the voice of the Lord. One of the striking aspects of this prophecy is the apparent impossibility of its fulfillment! The coming King was to be of the tribe of Judah. But priests were to come only from Aaron’ s family line. Thus it would be impossible for one man to be both priest and king; the two offices were kept forever separated. But when Jesus died, a new priesthood was established “ after the order of Melchizedek” (see Hebrews 5:1-14). Thus the impossible did happen . . . and this “ impossible prophecy” demonstrated anew the trustworthiness of the Word of God. A prophetic message (Zech. 7-8). In an extended section that seems to include four distinct themes or mini-messages, Zechariah answered a question raised by the men of Bethel. They had wondered if they needed to keep on fasting on the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem now that the city had been restored. They were rebuked and asked, “ When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past 70 years, was it really for Me that you fasted?” (Zechariah 7:5) Were their fasts caused by sorrow for their sufferings, or did they indicate repentance and concern for their treatment of God? The prophet reminded the people of Judah of God’ s requirements for holiness, and then of His promise of restoration. This message is meant to bring hope in their discouragement, and to fix their thoughts on the rejoicing that will be theirs when Messiah comes. Again we see the emphasis on destiny. Present discouragement must be evaluated in view of the certainty of ultimate blessing when God’ s promises to His people are finally fulfilled. The oracles (Zechariah 14:1-21). The last part of Zechariah is clearly focused on the culmination of God’ s plan. This is seen with great clarity in Zechariah 14:1-21, which describes the return of Messiah in great glory to consummate the divine program. Many unusual details are introduced here, details sometimes repeated in other prophetic portraits.
7. There is to be a final siege of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:1-2).
8. There is to be an appearance of the Lord on the earth, resulting in great topographical changes (Zechariah 14:3-8).
9. There will be a divine kingship established (Zechariah 14:9-11).
10. There will be punishment of Israel’ s enemies (Zechariah 14:12-15).
11. There will be a great conversion of the Gentile world to the Saviour (Zechariah 14:16-19).
12. There will then be an experience of true holiness reflected in the purity of the worship offered the Lord (Zechariah 14:20-21). It is clear from this quick review that not only are the prophetic forms many, but that each seems to lean forward. Each has in view, even when dealing with contemporary problems, the ultimate solution to human needs when the Messiah comes to rule over the kingdoms of this world. There is certainly no doubt or hesitation in the prophet’ s portrayal. There’ s a great day coming. A day of deliverance and restoration. Our present experience must be evaluated in view of what God is doing in our world, and in view of the destiny toward which history is swiftly carrying the universe itself. LINK TO LIFE: YOUTH / ADULT Have your group members sample the prophetic styles found in this book. Divide into teams, each of which is to look at one of four prophetic types: A vision; Zechariah 5:1-4A symbolic act; Zechariah 6:9-15A prophetic message; 7:1-8:17 An oracle; Zechariah 14:1-21Each team should study its passage, and then determine: (1) Is it easy or hard to understand? (2) What does this passage teach? (3) As this was written after the Babylonian Captivity and return, when has or will it take place?

Teaching Guide Prepare Work through the book using the outline in overview.

Explore

1. Let your group members guess the source and time of the three quoted prophecies at the beginning of this chapter. See “ link-to-life” above.
2. Or distribute the outline of Zechariah (see overview) and summarize its contents. Supplement your remarks with information from a commentary.

Expand

1. Divide into teams to look at four types of prophecy (“ link-to-life” above).
2. Or look at the detailed outline of the future suggested by Zechariah 14:1-21. Which elements have had at least partial fulfillment in history? Which elements have not yet happened?

Apply How important was prophecy to God’ s Old Testament people? How important is it to us today? Share.