Zech. 1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
Zechariah = Jehovah remembers
Berechiah = blessing, whom Jehovah hath blessed
Iddo = timely
Jehovah remembers His promises and will bless accordingly in His timing.
Zechariah was a contemporary of the prophet Haggai among those that returned to Jerusalem and Israel after the Babylonian captivity.
Haggai 1:1 “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet….”
Zechariah followed in the footsteps of his grandfather as a prophet. Grandparents are often very influential in the lives of their grandchildren.
Emphasis is on the fact that Zechariah’s message is “the word of the LORD,” YHWH, the self-existent, eternal God of Israel.
Zech. 1:2 The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
Zech. 1:3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
When I looked at the Hebrew for “sore displeased,” it indicated “bursting with rage.” True to the principle established in Ezekiel…
Ezekiel 18:20 “…The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”
…the LORD is not going to respond to those hearing Zechariah’s message according to the works of their forefathers. He is calling for them to turn FROM their sin TO God. If they do so, He promises to turn to them, to restore their relationship. Again, this affirms the truth as declared by the prophet Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 18:30-32 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”
It also echoes the truth of the Chronicler.
2 Chronicles 15:2 “The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.”
I think it is important to note that God is giving them a choice; He is not forcing them into relationship.
Guzik: “Zechariah’s words remind us of James 4:8: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. God promises to meet us running when we return to Him.”
Wiersbe: “By calling the people to repent, Zechariah was preparing them for the messages he would give them, for unless our hearts are right with God, we can’t hear His Word with true spiritual comprehension.”
Zech. 1:4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.
The prophet urges them not to be like their fathers who paid no attention to the prophets of God. Their forefathers had chosen to ignore God’s message as delivered by His prophets. They chose to continue in their “evil ways” and “evil doings.” In today’s understanding that would be like calling Americans to quit living according to the wicked morals of our society and stop doing the wicked things that are in direct disobedience to the word of God.
Zech. 1:5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
As God often does, He poses questions to make them think. The point to these questions—you are going to die one day.
Zech. 1:6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
The point God is making—My words live; My words and My laws are true. The judgment that fell upon your forefathers came to pass as foretold by My prophets. These judgments resulted in repentance by many who lived through that judgment. Point is made that judgment was in accordance with their actions; it was just.
Zech. 1:7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
Zech. 1:8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.
Just as with my other journals, I am going to trust the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to me and try not to get bogged down by what I can’t understand.
About three months after receiving his first message from the LORD, Zechariah received another message in a night vision. J. Vernon McGee pinpointed this date as February 24, 520 BC.
Zechariah saw a man on a red horse standing among some myrtle trees. The Hebrew for bottom indicates shade or as it was getting dark, and I tend to think it is referencing getting dark, i.e., approaching a time of judgment, a time of God’s wrath. Zephaniah used that comparison.
Zephaniah 1:15 “That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness….”
Behind this horse and rider were some other horses of different colors. Verse 11 implies that they also have riders since they reply to the angel.
Zech. 1:9 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.
Zech. 1:10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
Zech. 1:11 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.
The wording is confusing, but it seems as though the angel and the man on the red horse are one and the same and is identified in verse 11 as “the angel of the LORD.” This is often the description given in the Old Testament of the pre-incarnate Jesus. Zechariah asks the angel who these other riders are, and he is told that they are those sent by YHWH to basically patrol the earth. Zechariah then hears the riders give a report on what they saw—the earth is still and at rest or quiet.
You can’t help but wonder at this report. When has this been descriptive of the situation on planet earth? As you keep on reading, this report seems to be in contrast to the situation in Jerusalem and Judah.
Zech. 1:12 Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
Zech. 1:13 And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.
The “angel of the LORD” then speaks to YHWH. He asks when He is going to show mercy to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah since they had suffered His anger for 70 years in captivity in Babylon. God answers him with “good words and comfortable words” that seem to include the message of the following verses.
Zech. 1:14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Zech. 1:15 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
Zech. 1:16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
The angel then tells Zechariah to proclaim the message that YHWH is still zealous for Jerusalem and its people. Those would certainly be good and comforting words to the returning Jews. He is “bursting with rage” toward the heathen nations who mistreated the Jewish people far in excess of the judgment that God intended for them. These are those same nations that were described as still and at rest in verse 11. This would also seem to indicate a connection to the rest of God’s people that were scattered throughout the earth and how they were being treated by those nations in which they lived.
Verse 15 and verse 2 are confusing when compared—In verse 2 the LORD was “bursting with rage” toward the forefathers and in verse 15 He states that He “was but a little displeased.”
Verse 16 affirms that the LORD is again going to show mercy to Jerusalem (and its people) as His house is rebuilt. When His house is rebuilt, He will again be their defense and protection. I believe stretching forth the line is an idiom that declares ownership.
Note: The temple was completed four years later.
Zech. 1:17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
Emphasis is again made that this message is from YHWH. He identifies the cities of Judah (v12) as “My cities.” He is declaring that Judah will again prosper and Jerusalem will be reestablished as God’s dwelling place on earth. In immediate context, this prophecy would be partially fulfilled in Zechariah’s lifetime with the rebuilding of the temple, but I believe there is a future, more magnificent fulfillment of this prophecy for Israel when the LORD Jesus returns to establish His kingdom.
Zech. 1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
Zech. 1:19 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.
The next thing Zechariah sees is four horns, and he asks the angel what they were. The angel tells him that they are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
In my study of prophecy I have learned that horns represent power, and often kings and/or kingdoms. Daniel 7 describes the coming Antichrist as a horn (v8), and Daniel 8 describes Alexander the Great as a “notable horn” (v5) and the kings of Media and Persia as horns (v20). (See journal on Daniel for further explanation.)
I was listening to Doug McClean and he noted that neither the Medo-Persians or Greeks took the people captive out of Israel; in fact, Cyrus (Persian) facilitated their return after the Babylonian captivity. So, they would not be included in the horns mentioned here.
It was the Assyrians led by Tiglathpileser that first took the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel as captives. A second attack was led by Sargon II in 722 BC that conquered most of the Northern Kingdom. A third and final attack was led by Sennacharib that completely subjugated the Northern Kingdom, sending the remaining people into captivity. He even encroached into the Southern Kingdom of Judah and threatened King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, but God did not allow him to succeed.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took the people of Judah captive, also in three stages—605, 598 and 586 BC.
So maybe the four horns are Tiglathpileser, Sargon II, Sennacharib and Nebuchadnezzar. Or maybe they reach into the future to reference Assyria, Babylon, Rome and Antichrist’s kingdom.
After the armies of Rome under the leadership of Titus destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD, they dispersed the people throughout the world.
The final dispersion will occur under the reign of the Antichrist and his revived Roman empire when the remnant of Israel flee when he desecrates the temple and declares himself to be god.
Zech. 1:20 And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.
Zech. 1:21 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.
YHWH next shows Zechariah four carpenters or skilled craftsmen. Zechariah questions what they were going to do. He was told that since no man showed any concern for how Israel was treated at the hands of these kings or kingdoms, He was sending these carpenters to take down those nations that had scattered the people of Israel.
It would seem that Babylon was the carpenter that conquered Assyria. Babylon in turn was conquered by the Medo-Persians. Though Rome was never really conquered, its decline was marked by severe territorial loss resulting from war with the Goths in the Eastern Roman Empire in the Balkans. Scripture is quite clear that it will be the LORD Jesus who personally destroys the Antichrist and his armies when He returns to establish His kingdom.
Ironside: “Israel’s enemies are God’s enemies, and must be frayed and broken when their appointed course is run, with a view to the full deliverance of the remnant of the people of His choice.”
Zech. 2:1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
Zech. 2:2 Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
The next thing Zechariah sees is a man holding a measuring line. Zechariah asks the man where he is going. The man tells him that he is going to determine the width and length of Jerusalem; in other words, he is going to establish the boundaries of the city and establish possession.
Zech. 2:3 And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,
Zech. 2:4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:
Zech. 2:5 For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
After answering Zechariah, the angel sets out to do his work and is met by another angel that gives him a message for Zechariah, the “young man.” He is to tell Zechariah that Jerusalem is going to become so strong and prosperous that there will be no need for walls. God Himself will be her protection and her glory. The wording indicates that He will be dwelling in her midst.
This is obviously speaking of a time yet future; Jerusalem has never experienced such prosperity and security since the Babylonian captivity. Even more significant, God has not consistently been honored in her midst.
Zech. 2:6 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.
Zech. 2:7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
God’s message seems to embrace all of Israel at this point. He is calling His people to return home from where He had scattered them—from north, south, east and west. He emphasizes that they should flee from the land of the north. Most of Israel’s enemies are designated as coming from the north. In reading through this section again, it occurred to me that the “daughter of Babylon” could be a reference to any land of false religion, which in Zechariah’s day would basically be referencing all Gentile nations.
Why the call to come home? God is going to exact judgment on the nations.
I can’t help but think of the companion verses in Revelation 18 where God calls for His people to come out of Babylon.
Revelation 18:2-4 “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
Zech. 2:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
Zech. 2:9 For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.
This reference to the LORD of hosts has to be a reference to Jesus because in verse nine He is personally going to execute God’s judgment—“I will shake mine hand upon them.” Jesus told us Himself that God had delegated judgment to Him.
John 5:22-23 “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.”
It just hit me that “the LORD of hosts” is speaking (v8) and declaring that He has been sent by “the LORD of hosts” (v9) in reference to the Father; this is another declaration of the oneness of Father and Son.
“After the glory” – This phrase caught my attention. I’m thinking that the glory being referenced is the resurrection of Jesus as referenced in 1Peter.
1Peter 1:10-11 “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”
“hath he sent me unto the nations…” – This would seem to be a reference to Jesus returning to defeat the armies of the nations at Armageddon and establish His Kingdom. Those that have spoiled (plundered, robbed) Israel will find themselves providing spoil to Israel. The prophet Jeremiah proclaimed this same truth.
Jeremiah 30:16-17 “Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.”
And Isaiah…Isaiah 14:1-2 “For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.”
No matter what some may say today, Zion is declared to be the “apple of God’s eye.” It is not a conditional statement; it’s a statement of truth, of fact. The apple of the eye is the pupil (according to the Hebrew). This is the center of one’s focus and vision; it is expressing something treasured and valued. God is going to exact judgment upon those nations that have mistreated the nation of Israel, His special treasure among the nations.
When Jesus comes in glory to deliver Israel, it will be clear to all that He comes as the personal representative of the Father in heaven.
Courson: Physiologists tell us the quickest reflex in our entire body is the reflex to cover the eye when something is coming. That’s how quick the Lord is to protect His own.”
Zech. 2:10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
Zech. 2:11 And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
Zech. 2:12 And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
Again, point is made that YHWH is going to come and dwell with the people of Zion in the person of Jesus, the Son. My understanding--The LORD [Jesus] declares that He is coming to dwell with them…as sent by the LORD of hosts [God the Father]. This will be a cause for great singing and rejoicing. In that day, Jesus will be dwelling in Jerusalem and many nations will be living in unity with Israel as followers of God. Again, this is obviously future and in reference to the 1000-year reign of Jesus on the throne of David.
This is the only place in the Bible that reference is made to the land of Israel as “the holy land.”
Zech. 2:13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
As I started thinking about this verse, the phrase “scared stiff” came to mind. Then I thought about Psalm 2—“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” Is it because God has been seated on His throne with longsuffering “not willing that any should perish?”
2Peter. 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
The nations have concluded that God is powerless or doesn’t care. The time will come when the LORD will leave heaven and exact judgment on the heathen and establish His throne in Jerusalem, affirming Israel as the jewel of the nations. That should provoke all people that have rejected Him to fear and silence.