PM Home Bible Study Group; September 22, 2010

Zechariah: Introduction

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

In writing about our salvation in Christ, the apostle Peter affirmed something astonishing. He wrote;

Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into (1 Peter 1:10-12).

No doubt the apostle Peter would have had Zechariah in mind when he wrote that. It is an Old Testament prophetic book that uniquely focuses on ‘the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow’.

The human writer of this book was Zechariah; whose name means “Whom YHWY Remembers”; or simply “YHWY Remembers”. And it should be noted that he was said to be the son of a man named Berechiah whose name means “YHWY Blesses”; and that Berechiah’s father was Iddo whose name means “The Appointed Time”. As Dr. J. Vernon McGee points out, “Certainly this cluster of names with such rich meanings is suggestive of the encouragement given to the remnant—God remembers and blesses in the appointed time.”

Nehemiah 12:1 says, “Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua . . .”; and in listing the names, in verse 4, it mentions “Iddo” as a head of a priestly family. Thus, Zechariah—Iddo’s grandson—was most likely part of one of the priestly families that had been among those who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity in the time of Zerubbabel around 536 B.C. (see Ezra 2:1-70).

The circumstances of Zechariah’s prophecy occur some fourteen years after that first return. King Cyrus of Persia had granted to the Jewish people the right to return and rebuild their temple. But through much conniving, the enemies of Israel were able to persuade a subsequent king to forbid them from doing so. The work stood at a standstill for fourteen years until God raised up two prophets— Haggai and Zechariah (see Ezra 5:1) to call the people to resume the work. In the time of King Darius, an inquiry was made into that original decree of Cyrus; and Darius confirmed it and renewed royal permission to build in the second year of his reign (Ezra 5-6).

But through all the struggles and opposition, the people of Israel lost much of their zeal for the work. And so God shook the people from their doldrums through these two great prophets (see Ezra 6:14); and the work was resumed in 522 B.C. and completed in 515 B.C. And so, both Zechariah’s and Haggai’s prophecies (next to one another in our Bibles) were meant to stir the complacent and hesitant people of God back into action. But there’s a difference between them. Haggai’s book is mostly focused on rebuking the people for their inaction; while Zechariah’s book focuses on inspiring them through the promise of future glory.

Zechariah focuses much on the work of the coming Messiah; and has often been called ‘the Apocalypse of the Old Testament’. Its visions seem very much like those in the Old Testament book of Daniel and the New Testament book of Revelation. It serves as a great spur to you and me in Christ today! It encourages us to get to work in faithfully living the Christian life by pointing ahead to the glories that will be ours when Jesus returns. In encourages us that God truly remembers His people, and will bless them at the appointed time.

Below is a suggested outline of this remarkable Old Testament prophecy (adapted from Charles L. Feinberg, God Remembers: A Study of Zechariah [Portland, OR: Multnomah Press], pp ix-x; and Merril F. Unger, Zechariah: Prophet of Messiah’s Glory [Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978], pp. 5-6.)

I. An Exhortation to Repentance (1:1-6).

II. The Prophet’s Night-Visions (1:7-6:15).

A. The Vision of Horses (1:7-17).

B. The Vision of the Horns and Craftsmen (1:18-21).

C. The Vision of the Man with the Measuring Line (2:1-13).

D. The Vision of Joshua the High Priest and the Angel of LORD (3:1-10).

E. The Vision of the Candlestick and the Two Olive Trees (4:1-14).

F. The Vision of the Flying Roll (5:1-4).

G. The Vision of the Woman in the Basket (5:5-11).

H. The Vision of the Four Chariots (6:1-8).

I. The Coronation of Joshua (6:9-15).

III. The Question and the Answer about Fasting (7:1-8:23).

A. Ritualism Verses Spirituality (7:1-14).

D. The Fasts become Feasts (8:1-23).

IV. The Future of the World Powers, Israel, and the Kingdom of Messiah (9:1-14:21).

A. The First Burden (9:1-11:17).

1. Judgment on the Land of Hadrach (9:1-8).

2. Israel’s King of Peace (9:9-10).

3. The King’s Mission in Relation to Israel (9:11-17).

4. Additional Blessings for Israel (10:1-12).

5. The Rejection of the Good Shepherd and the Rule of the Wicked One (11:1-17).

B. The Second Burden (12:1-14-21).

1. Israel’s Conflict and Deliverance (12:1-14).

2. Israel Cleansed of Her Sin (13:1-6).

3. The Shepherd Smitten and the Sheep Scattered (13:7-9).

4. The Day of the LORD and Israel’s Deliverance (14:1-7).

5. God’s Earthly Kingdom (14:8-21).