Zechariah

A Brief Introduction 

Global Message for Today 

Verse 14 sums up the message of the entire prophecy and suggests key thoughts for meditation. God’s jealousy or zeal is His ardent and active love for His name, His glory, His law, and His people. It is His zealous disposition that demonstrates the appropriate action. When offended, it shows itself in just retribution. When stirred by grace, it reveals eternal love. Whereas jealousy and zeal in man can be easily perverted in moments of passion, that is never true of God. Behind His fervent zeal and hot jealousy are His eternal purpose, immutability, omnipotence, and authority. Significantly, this declared jealousy for His people is from the Lord of hosts, a title that highlights His power and authority. As you read through Zechariah, pay attention to this title that occurs over fifty times. Many of the promises are beyond human comprehension, but behind every promise is the God who controls and commands all of creation; that is solid reason for hope. Nothing can hinder or frustrate God’s burning zeal. 

In the opening vision, the man on the red horse represents Christ. Indeed, the vision identifies Him as the angel of the Lord, one of the frequent designations of Christ in His preincarnate appearances in the Old Testament. His activity in the vision is instructive. The fact that He is present with His people in their low estate (among the myrtles in the valley) is evidence of Immanuel theology (God with us). It is always a comfort to know that regardless of our circumstance, as believers we can be assured that our Savior is with us and that He will not leave us alone. His intercession for Israel in their lowly condition is a wonderful reminder of Christ’s constant intercessory ministry for us. He saw their need and prayed for resolution. As our faithful high priest, He ever lives to intercede and He does so from the reality of knowing by experience all our infirmities. 

The surface lesson of the third vision is that God’s purpose for His people is greater than expectation. This is a vivid illustration of the promise of Eph. 3:20—God is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” It would have been a wonderful fulfillment of promise had God merely restored Jerusalem to its previous glory. But He had a purpose to dwell with His people and to increase them beyond comprehension. This should encourage us to be bold in our praying. Too often we fear to ask too much lest we become disappointed if He does not answer according to our expectations. Our notions of what is best or how God should answer are always limited by lack of knowledge or of faith. Let us trust Him for the best and know that He will supply our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. We should not limit God to our notions of what He should or can do.  

That God regards His people as the pupil of His eye is a precious thought. As the eye is sensitive to touch, so God is sensitive to what may threaten us. To touch a child of God in hostility is tantamount to poking God in the eye. He will protect us with all His resources. It is an amazing truth that we are precious to Him and that He will take care of us. 

This third vision encourages us to think on God’s unfailing purpose for the church, His protection, and His gracious presence. It reveals the triumph of grace and assures us that whatever we see in this world (1) God will get the glory, (2) every enemy will be conquered, and (3) every believer will share in covenant promises and blessing. These are good reasons to worship: to hush and to be quiet and reverently calm (v. 13). 

Justification is one of the great components of our complete salvation in Christ as believers. In a gracious act, God pardons our sin and accepts us as righteous by imputing Christ’s righteousness to us, which we receive by faith alone. By reflecting on the picture of Joshua, even little children can understand something of this remarkable truth. The filthy garments picture the terrible stain of guilt we have before God. The removal of the garments pictures God’s gracious forgiveness, and receiving the new garments points to the imputation of Christ’s righteousness that gives us acceptance with God. This shows that we need more than forgiveness for what we have done in offending God; we need the garment of salvation, the robe of righteousness that Christ provides. 

It is impossible to think about justification without thinking about what Christ has done. The prophecy of the Branch, God’s servant, points to Christ in His humanity and life of humble obedience whereby He earned merit before God, weaving for us that robe of righteousness. He was made of woman under the law. His removal of iniquity in a single day points to His cross on which He shed His blood in atonement for our sins. Because of what Christ did in His life and in His death, we can be justified before the Holy God. 

Since priests were man’s representatives before God, what was said about Joshua and his colleagues is applicable to all true believers. Their being “men of a sign” (see note at 3:8) is instructive. They were symbolic of something greater than themselves. They were to attract attention to the Branch, to Christ. That sums up what should be true for every believer—to be like Christ, to be conformed to His image.  

The lampstand is a wonderful picture of the Christian’s ministry to bear witness to Christ while in union with Him. The lampstand was all of one piece, and the lights from the six branches (symbolic of the church) shone toward the center shaft (symbolic of Christ). Christ is the light of the world, and believers are lights. The ministry of John the Baptist illustrates this (John 1:6–9). These lamps burned with oil, which represents the Holy Spirit. Meditate on this: the Holy Spirit enables believers to glorify Christ in their service. The remarkable point of Zechariah’s vision is the pipes that run directly from the olive trees to the lamps, picturing the inexhaustible supply of Holy Spirit power. There is sufficient power for every Christian to fulfill his duty of bearing witness to Christ. 

Verse 6, the key verse, is a humbling reminder that the church can fulfill its mission only in the power of the Spirit. The lamps could not burn without oil; the church cannot function without the Holy Spirit. Too often, the modern church substitutes administrative skills or seminars for success in the effort to advance the kingdom. 

God rejoices when He sees the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel (v. 10). This should encourage every believer to serve the Lord regardless of how big or small his ministry may appear. Holding a plumbline did not require any skill, but it was an essential task. Every Christian should be confident that however he or others estimate the value of his service, it pleases the Lord when done for Him. 

The flying scroll, representing God’s inflexible and unchanging laws, is like a military drone, an eye in the sky, on a mission to discover the enemy’s presence and to detect his movements and behavior. So all the world is accountable to God, liable to the just penalty of the broken law, and incapable of escaping the just consequences. It is good to remember that God is no respecter of persons and that none will be exempt from His righteous judgment. To be outside of Christ is to be left with no defense against the curse. 

The vision of the woman in the ephah provides occasion to express praise for the absolute triumph of the gospel. The day will come when every vestige of sin will be gone; there will be a complete reversal of the curse. The new heavens and new earth will be a perfect environment for God’s people. Wickedness will be put in its place never again to tempt or to trouble. All of this is possible because Christ crushed the serpent’s head. 

The final vision reminds us of the effectual power of the intercessory ministry of Christ. The sight of the hostile nations enjoying peace and security led to His prayer for God to show mercy to His people by executing vengeance on the enemy (1:12–15). The final vision details the answer to the prayer. Christ’s prayers are always heard and answered; God will not turn away His Son. So as He sits exalted at God’s right hand, He is interceding for believers who should rejoice, and boldly utilize Him as their Advocate. 

The war wagons and angelic forces at God’s command in Zechariah’s day are still operative as God’s providence rules and subdues all forces hostile to the advance of His kingdom. The God of then is the God of now. The fact that we cannot see what is happening in the spiritual realm does not mean that nothing is happening. Beyond our sight God is controlling everything to the certain accomplishment of His redemptive plan. Things had to be done in Zechariah’s day for the preparation of the incarnation; things are being done in our day leading to the second coming. We may not understand what is happening at any given time, but faith rests in God’s promise. 

God’s answer to the question of fasting illustrates the frequent biblical warning that performing perfunctory religious rituals without a genuine heart for the Lord never pleases Him. God is never satisfied with religion without devotion. These fasts commemorating the captivity were of their own devising and were conducted without any thought toward God. Whatever their motive, it was not a service being rendered to God. It is all too easy to be taken up with the liturgical calendar or even routine services and assume that the mere exercise or observance pleases the Lord. Those that worship God must do so with genuine hearts (in spirit and truth), and God looks through the rituals right to the heart. 

To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22). Rather than the multiplication of offerings, God has revealed what is good (Mic. 6:6–8). God’s explanation that captivity could have been averted if the people had obeyed the prophets and behaved righteously teaches the same truth. It is obedience to God that truly affirms love for Him (1 John 5:3). Once we find acceptance with God in Christ, we please Him when we trust and obey Him. 

Zechariah’s application of the grand prophecies illustrates a key function of biblical prophecy that is as relevant for us as those to whom Zechariah preached. What God reveals about the future is to affect life in the present. Although those who heard Zechariah’s message never personally witnessed the fulfillment of all the details, they were to be encouraged and to engage fervently in serving the Lord—rebuilding the temple. So must we, in view of all the future things associated with Christ’s second coming, be diligent and faithful in our service. Christ has told us “to occupy” or to stay busy with God-honoring tasks until He comes (Luke 19:13). 

The prophecy regarding Gentile inclusion in God’s kingdom is reason for all Gentile believers in the church to rejoice because in part they represent the fulfillment. Although God had a special purpose for Israel as the human ancestry for Christ, it was His grand design in the gospel that all of the world would be blessed. Let us thank the Lord that Christ tore down the wall of partition giving both Jew and Gentile equal access to the Father through His blood (Eph. 2:14–18).  

As Israel was to shout and rejoice over the certain prospect of the coming King, so we should rejoice over the King who has come and is coming again. As that coming King was the message of hope to both Jews and Gentiles (9:10) in Zechariah’s day, He remains the only hope for man today. 

That Christ’s kingdom is without borders (v. 10) is a source of great confidence. A king’s authority is always limited by the borders of His kingdom, so a borderless kingdom speaks of unlimited authority. Kingdoms come and go because kings cannot hold on to what little they govern, but Christ’s kingdom is without threat for every human government exists within the borders of His. He rules all for His own glory and the good of His people. To be a citizen of His kingdom is reason for joy (v. 17).   

The word translated “punished” and “visited” in 10:3 means to inspect or examine and is a sobering reminder that God is more than a casual observer of the affairs of man. He is the divine, all-thorough inspector who investigates and examines every man and deals with men according to what He knows. He punishes those not right with Him and blesses those who seek to live without offense to Him. None can escape the all-seeing eye of God and that should encourage piety. We should all strive for the testimony of David in Ps. 17:3. 

Reflecting on the titles of Christ in Zech. 10:4 should generate worship and thanksgiving. As the corner, the sure foundation, He is the only trustworthy object of faith—the only hope for sinners. As the nail, He holds up under any weight and load. He bore the load of our guilt and sin and is able to hold our troubles and cares. We can hang it all on Him. As the battle bow, He subdues all of His and our enemies; He is the able and unfailing defender of His people. As the absolute ruler, He rules either by grace or with iron. It is critical to be a citizen rather than enemy of His kingdom.    

God’s judgment on the foolish shepherd’s arm and eye is significant because these two body parts are instrumental to a shepherd’s work, to attend to and to watch over the flock. The failure of the foolish shepherd puts in bold the wonderful faithfulness of our good shepherd, who loves, guides, guards, feeds, seeks, and cares for His flock. He gathers His lambs in His arms (Isa. 40:11), and with His all-seeing eye He seeks for His sheep (Ezek. 34:11). 

As unfair as it was for the prophet’s labors to be valued at such a meager sum, how much more does Christ’s betrayal for that same paltry sum add to the shame that He suffered for us. We should be ever amazed at the wonder of His grace that brought Him down from His ivory place (Ps. 45:8) to be so rejected and scorned by sinners. Let us never get over the extent of His humiliation endured for our sakes.   

When God makes Judah and Jerusalem unassailable by any and all invaders, He illustrates the wonderful truth of Rom. 8:31, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” The sight of infantry and cavalry charging would be demoralizing and terrifying, but the sight of God’s frustration of every advance would bring confidence, encouragement, and peace. So it should be for every believer to realize that in the face of all that may come our way, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom. 8:37). 

When God pours out His Spirit, dispensing grace and generating prayer, He shows the power and consequence of regeneration. The Spirit awakens the sinner to look with understanding on Christ (the one who was pierced) and then to seek favor from God. Pleading in prayer is evidence of spiritual life. Remember when Ananias was reticent about ministering to the newly converted Saul, God assured him that the conversion was genuine by informing Ananias that Saul was praying (Acts 9:11). It is a basic truth that Christians pray. 

Reflect in worship on what 13:7 says about the atonement. Two thoughts are particularly overwhelming: the identity and the sacrifice of the shepherd. The Lord speaks and designates Christ as “my shepherd,” referring to His divine appointment to be the mediator, and “my fellow,” speaking of His essential equality with the Lord. Both terms point to His deity, but Christ is also man, thus enabling Him to die. That the Lord Himself commands the sword to smite Christ testifies to the seriousness of sin; God’s justice demanded the death of His “fellow,” His coequal Son. While the cross is evidence of divine love, it is foremost evidence to divine justice. Ought not the wonder of it all—that Christ died for sinners—bring us to praise? 

Similarly, the reference to the cleansing fountain comes between a reference to Christ being pierced by men (12:10) and being executed by God’s sword. That reminds us that the cleansing fountain of Christ’s blood is the only means whereby sins can be forgiven. Comparing 12:10 with 13:7 also points to Acts 2:23 that links God’s eternal purpose regarding the cross to the sinner’s guilt in nailing Him to the tree. The cross was central to God’s plan, and it should be in the lives of all who have been redeemed by it. 

When God gathered the nations to fight against Jerusalem, only to fight against them Himself, we are reminded of the many examples of the mysterious ways of God’s sovereign providence. Events and circumstances that we easily interpret as being threatening and fearful prove to be occasions for God to display His mighty power. Remember when the five Amorite kings came together to fight against Joshua. That had to be a fearful sight since up to that point Israel had faced one enemy at a time. But what appeared to be a disaster turned out to be an amazing victory thanks to the divine intervention causing the sun and moon to stand still (Josh. 10). It was God’s way of accomplishing multiple victories in a single battle. We should not judge or question God’s ways. Rather we should trust Him that He uses even those things that appear to be against us to accomplish our good. 

Although the scene described in this chapter is subject to various views of the end times, it does generate the happy hope for all believers that God, Christ, and truth will triumph. A new heaven and new earth are coming that will be free from every vestige of sin and will manifest the power of the gospel in reversing the curse. The desire of every believer should be “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). The way Zechariah closes his prophecy justifies his reputation as the prophet of hope.