Scripture Reading: Zech. 1:1-6
With this message we begin the life-study of Zechariah.
Zechariah was the grandson of Iddo and the son of Berechiah (Zech. 1:1). In Hebrew the name Iddo means "at an appointed time"; the name Berechiah means "Jehovah will bless"; and the name Zechariah means "Jehovah will remember." Hence, the total significance of these three names is that at an appointed time Jehovah will bless and Jehovah will remember.
Zechariah was born of a priestly family in captivity (Neh. 12:1, 4, 12, 16). He was first a priest, and then he became a prophet. He returned to Judah with Zerubbabel at the time of the prophet Haggai (about 520 B.C.). Zechariah and Haggai encouraged the building of the temple of God under the hands of Zerubbabel and Joshua. Joshua was the high priest, representing the priesthood, and Zerubbabel, a descendant of the royal family, was the governor of Judah, representing the kingship. Thus, the kingship went forth with the priesthood and built the temple of God. Even today in the building up of the church as the Body of Christ, we need both the priesthood and the kingship.
The time of Zechariah's ministry was from the second year of Darius Hystapsis (different from both the Darius in Daniel 9:1 and 11:1 and the one in Nehemiah 12:22). The year was about 520 B.C. The place of Zechariah's ministry was Judah (Zech. 7:3-4).
The book of Zechariah opens with a word exhorting the children of Israel to return to Jehovah with the promise that Jehovah will return to them (1:2-6). They had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, but probably most of them had not returned to the Lord. Verse 3 says, "Return to Me, declares Jehovah of hosts, and I will return to you, says Jehovah of hosts." Here we have a principle: first we have to return to the Lord, and then the Lord will return to us.
The subject of the prophecy of Zechariah is Jehovah's hearty consolation and promise to His chastised chosen people through the redemption of Christ, who in His humiliation became their suffering Companion in their captivity.
The central thought of Zechariah's prophecy is that Jehovah remembers His chastised people and sympathizes with them in their suffering of the nations' excessive reaction to His punishment over them. For their suffering of His punishment, God sent Christ as His Angel to be with them and go with them through their captivity, who accomplished a fine redemption for their salvation. In the meantime Jehovah also raised up "craftsmen" to deal with the nations who had reacted in excess. He also gave a hearty word of consolation and promise through Zechariah, a prophet of restoration, saying that He would bring the scattered Israel back to their own country with the expectation of a time of restoration and prosperity.
In this central thought there are several important factors: God's sympathy, redemption, salvation, the Savior, the Redeemer, and the Deliverer. Because of His sympathy, God came in to console the people whom He had chastised. In this consoling work, Christ was sent to accomplish redemption for their salvation, making Christ their Savior as well as their Redeemer. In God's redemption for salvation, Christ is the centrality. Christ came the first time to redeem God's elect by being crucified and shedding His blood. His coming the second time will not be to redeem but to deliver God's elect out of the hand of Antichrist and to bring in a time of restoration and prosperity. Thus Christ is also the Deliverer, making Christ the universality. In this universe we see Christ on the cross as the center, and from that center Christ is spreading Himself to the circumference. This is the universality of Christ. Ephesians tells us that this redeeming Christ who produced the Body, the church, is the One who fills all in all (1:22-23). He is surely the centrality and the universality in God's plan and in God's redemption.
We need to make a comparison between the three prophets, Isaiah, Daniel, and Zechariah, in two matters: in God's economy toward His chosen people and in Christ for the people of His concern.
Concerning God's economy toward His chosen people, Isaiah reveals that all the nations are for God's chosen people either positively or negatively. God's real concern is for Israel, and all the nations are utilized by God for Israel's benefit, both positively and negatively. For example, Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar was used in a negative way, whereas Medo-Persia under Cyrus was used in a positive way. Cyrus was chosen by God and was His delight. God regarded him as the shepherd of His people in their captivity.
In Daniel all the nations are sovereignly under God's heavenly ruling for Israel to be God's witness and testimony on earth. Satan used Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Judah and to carry the Jews into captivity in Babylon. Satan's intention was to end God's testimony on earth with all His witnesses. But he did not realize that among these captives God had four young overcomers. Whatever Satan would do, these overcomers had a way to counter it and annul it. They overcame the demonic diet, the devilish blinding, and the seduction of idol worship. All of Satan's devices merely resulted in God's testimony being strengthened and uplifted through His young overcomers. Eventually, the authority to govern the land of Babylon was in the hands of Daniel and his three companions.
In Zechariah all the nations' dealings with Israel are for Israel to experience Christ in their ignorance. God's concern for Israel is seen in His dealings with all the nations.
The book of Isaiah unveils Christ in many items, mainly concerning Christ's being, that is, concerning what Christ is. Regarding Christ for the people of God's concern, in Isaiah we see that Christ is ushered in as the all-inclusive One to meet the need of the chastised Israel and of the judged nations. God is so merciful in His dealing to bring in Christ not only for Israel but also for the nations. Hence, Christ is the Savior not only of Israel but also of all the nations.
The book of Daniel reveals that Christ is the excellent One who came to be crucified for the producing of the new creation to match Him as His bride and who will come back with His bride to terminate the human government and replace it with God's eternal kingdom. In Daniel we see that Christ in His crucifixion is the landmark between God's old creation and God's new creation. In His appearing to the prophet, He was the excellent and precious One for the appreciation and expectation of the people of God. In His appearing to the human powers on the earth, He will end the human government and become the divine kingdom throughout the whole earth for eternity.
In Zechariah we see that Christ as the sent One from God is with God's suffering people to be their Redeemer. We also see that in His humiliation He goes with them through their suffering to be their Savior in a fine and sympathetic way.
The book of Zechariah does not stress Christ's being or His working. Rather, it reveals Christ as the One who was sent to Israel as their King in a lowly form but was detested, sold, attacked, and pierced, and thereby accomplished redemption for them. Christ as the Angel of Jehovah was with them in their captivity. Eventually, Christ will fight for Israel and will be King over all the earth.
The first section of the book of Zechariah is the introductory word in 1:1-6.
The second section of Zechariah consists of the visions of consolation and promise (1:7—6:15). These visions include the vision of a man as the Angel of Jehovah riding on a red horse and standing among the myrtle trees in the bottoms of the valley (1:7-17); the vision of the four horns and the four craftsmen (1:18-21); the vision of a man with a measuring line in His hand (ch. 2); the vision of Joshua the high priest perfected, established, and strengthened by the Angel of Jehovah with Zerubbabel the governor of Judah (ch. 3); the vision of the lampstand of gold and two olive trees, one to its right and one to its left (ch. 4); the vision of the flying scroll (5:1-4); the vision of the ephah vessel (5:5-11); the vision of the four chariots (6:1-8); and the concluding word to confirm the eight visions by the crowning of Joshua as a type of Christ, who will build the temple of God and will hold two offices — the priesthood and the kingship — in peace on His throne (6:9-15).
The next section (chs. 7—8) consists of the advice to Israel to turn from the vanity of their ritualistic religion to the reality of a godly life, and the desire of Jehovah to restore Israel.
The last section (chs. 9—14) covers the prophecies of encouragement centered on Christ. These prophecies include the prophecy concerning the nations around Judah in relation to Israel (ch. 9); the prophecy concerning the Lord's loving visitation to Israel (ch. 10); the prophecy concerning the living of Israel under the oppression of the Roman Empire (ch. 11); and the prophecy concerning Israel's destiny in the great war of Armageddon, in their household salvation, and in the millennium (chs. 12—14)
