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Bible Characters ZECHARIAH 1. Zechariah Was of the Lineage of Aaron

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Bible Characters ZECHARIAH 1. Zechariah Was of the Lineage of Aaron Series: Bible Characters ZECHARIAH 1. Zechariah was of the lineage of Aaron (Neh 12:4). a. His grandfather Iddo was a prophet and a priest. b. Zechariah was a contemporary with Haggai. c. The book that bears his name is one of three prophetic writings of the OT written after the captivity. 2. When the book of Zechariah was written, Israel was in a critical period of their history. a. After 70 years in captivity in Babylon, 50,000 Jews under the leadership of Zerubbabel the governor, and Joshua the high priest, were allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their city. b. They were filled with excitement and rebuilt the altar of burnt offerings and were offering sacrifices to the Lord within seven months (Ezra 3:1-6). c. Within the second year of their return they started rebuilding the temple. 1) The foundations were laid (Ezra 3:8-13). 2) But opposition from the Samaritans began and disrupted the work (Ezra 4:1-23). 3) At this point the building stopped and the people became complacent. 3. At this time, God raised up the prophet Haggai to encourage the people to get back to work on the temple (Haggai 1:2-4, 8 and 2:3-4). 4. His preaching brought a revival and in the midst of this revival God raised up another prophet with more messages by the name of Zechariah. a. Haggai’s preaching was to arouse the people to an outward action. b. Zechariah’s preaching was to lead the people through an inward change. He did this through three messages. I. THE FIRST TWO MESSAGES OF ZECHARIAH The three messages are identified by a date and the phrase “the word of the LORD” (Zech 1:1; 1:7; 7:1). A. The First Message (1:1-6). 1. The Jews had become complacent because of the opposition. Zechariah’s message from God was a simple one (v. 3) “…Turn ye unto me…and I will turn unto you…” 2. The “former prophets” (v. 4) refers to those prophets who were ministering before the Babylonian captivity. a. The former prophets preached for Israel to turn from their evil ways, yet they did not. [1] b. The prophets and Israel’s fathers have passed on, but God said He would deal with them, and He did (vv. 5-6). The cry is for these Jews that Zechariah is ministering to should take history as an example. If they do not turn to God inwardly, God will deal with them the same as He dealt with their fathers in years gone by. B. The Second Message (1:7-6:15). 1. The next message is really a set of nine visions that God gave Zechariah. 2. These visions were given to Zechariah in one night, possibly during a trance like recorded of Peter in (Acts 10:10). Basically, these visions are… a. Vision 1 – man among the Myrtle tree (1:7-17). b. Vision 2 – the four horns and smiths (1:18-21). c. Vision 3 – the measuring line (2:1-13). d. Vision 4 – Joshua and the angel of the Lord (3:1-10). e. Vision 5 – Golden candlestick and two olive trees (4:1-14). f. Vision 6 – the flying roll (5:1-4). g. Vision 7 – the woman in the ephah (5:5-11). h. Vision 8 – the four chariots (6:1-8). i. Vision 9 – the crowning of Joshua (6:9-15). 3. The message of the visions are two-fold. a. First, to the Israel of Zechariah’s day that God was with them and that they should not tarry in building the temple. b. Secondly, an outline of Israel’s program from the restoration of Babylonian captivity to the millennial kingdom. 4. The lesson Zechariah was trying to get across to Israel, and for our example as well, was that God was with them and they should not tarry in doing the work of the Lord because tarrying leads to complacency. II. THE THIRD MESSAGE OF ZECHARIAH The third message of Zechariah is split into two parts. The first part is a series of four important points and the second part consist of two burdens. A. Part One. 1. Point One (7:1-7) – It is better to obey than to go through the pretenses of sincerity (fasting). a. They had started a day of fasting on their own to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem. b. In the beginning it was sincere, but now it was a mere ceremony. [2] c. It would have been better for them to heed the former prophets than to start a day of fasting (vv. 4-7). 2. Point two (7:8-14) – Disobedience will always lead to judgment. a. Their stubbornness is seen in (vv. 11-12). The adamant stone was a stone that was so hardened that it could not be cut or engraved. b. The judgment of God is seen in (vv. 13-14). 1) God shut His ears to their cries. 2) God scattered them into strange lands. 3) God made the promised land which once flowed with milk and honey desolate. c. Disobedience will make the once fruitful and vibrant Christian void of any fruit and desolate. 3. Point three (8:1-17) – God is jealous over His people and their repentance will lead to God’s blessings. a. God is very jealous over His children (v. 2). b. Though the land became desolate, God would again return into the land (v. 3). c. Not only would God return, but Israel (all ages) would return to the promised land (v4-8). d. Because of these promises, Israel is employed to take heed to the prophets (i.e. Zechariah, Haggai, Malachi) and build the temple for God will surely be with them and they will prosper (vv. 9-17). 4. Point four (8:18-23) – God will make the empty fasts that they had been practicing become a time of feasting and Jerusalem will become the place where many nations will seek the Lord. B. Part Two. 1. Burden one (9:1-11:17) – those nations (Syria, Phoenicia, and Philistia) who had opposed the building of the temple will now be reckoned with by God. They will experience God’s wrath first hand. 2. Burden two (12:1-14:21) – because Israel will be cleansed by God, they will be blessed and become conquerors. These “burdens” are not only specific to Israel in Zechariah’s day, but later as God judges the world and sets up His millennial kingdom. It is important to remember that God takes care of His children and defeats their enemies, they are truly conquerors with Him. [3] .
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