* Some thoughts on these verses from Warren Wiersbe:
* These verses describe the march of Alexander the Great and his army through the area north and east of Palestine.
* He defeated the Persians in 333 b.c., which fulfilled Daniels’ prophecy of the winged leopard.
* Then he defeated leading cities of Phoenicia.
* After defeating these nations, the Greek army then marched down the Phoenician coast, taking one city after another, from Tyre and Sidon in the north to Ashkelon and Gaza in the south.
* Vs 3-8 - Zechariah prophesied, along with Daniel, this would happen.
* But why all this concern over Alexander the Great?
* Vs 9 - Because of verse 9! It was all to prepare for Jesus!
* Wiersbe - “His conquests helped to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus Christ. By building Greek cities, encouraging his soldiers to marry women from conquered nations, and spreading Greek culture and the Greek language, he unified the known world, and when the Romans took over, they found an empire all prepared for them. Greek was the language of literature, and our New Testament is written in the common Greek language of the people of that day. The combination of Greek culture and Roman government, roads, and laws was just what the early church needed for the spread of the Gospel.”
Zechariah 9:3-8 (1/2/20)
Paving the Way
January 2, 2020 • Benham Brothers
Zechariah 2:1-5 (12/27/18)
December 27, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* vs 1-2 - Jerusalem’s walls had been broken down and God gave Zach a vision of an angel measuring the length and width of Jerusalem. * This was showing ownership. * In real estate we measure the houses we buy - this shows ownership. * This discovers whether or not the house “measures up” to the specifications it’s supposed to. * vs 3-5 - God was not going to build a physical wall but a spiritual one. * This wall showed protection. * God was essentially saying, “Jerusalem is mine and I will protect it.” * We can apply this to our own lives. * Walls represent security. * We don’t need to find our security in anything other than God. * We are His and He will provide for and protect us.
Zechariah 3:1-4 (12/27/18)
December 27, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* In this vision God is holding court and Satan is bringing accusations against Joshua the High Priest. * Joshua wasn’t “measuring up” - that was true. * But then God rebukes the accuser. * Satan is a deceiver in the role of an accuser. * We need to recognize this and deal with it. * When we see the 3 A’s of Satan we can defeat him: * 1) Adversary - Satan is our adversary - he stands against everything God stands for. * When we make peace with God the devil declares war on us. * 2) Accusation - Satan brings accusations to us because we are made in God’s image. * He accuses us about our own sin (like Joshua) so we'll be paralyzed by guilt. * He accuses others about their sin so we become bitter toward them. * 3) Agreement - the only way Satan can defeat us is for us to agree with his accusations (against us and/or against others). * The way to win is to NEVER AGREE WITH THE ACCUSER!
Zechariah 4:1-14 (12/30/21)
December 30, 2021 • Benham Brothers • Zechariah 4
* When we treat our work as worship God gets involved in the process. * BACKSTORY - Israel’s leader, Zerubbabel, had the responsibility of rebuilding the Temple that had been destroyed. * It would not look anything like the former Temple. * But God wanted the job done, and so he sent a few prophets (Haggai and Zechariah) to encourage him to keep up the good work. * This chapter was specific to Zerubbabel. * How would God encourage this leader to keep up the good work he was doing of rebuilding the temple? * He would show him a picture of what’s happening in the spiritual world while he was busy working in the physical world. * As Zerubbabel was working on the Temple, here’s what was happening: * Vs 1-3 - God was pouring the oil of the Spirit upon him to strengthen him for the task. * Olive trees fed the oil so the priest didn’t have to. * Vs 4-5 - Zechariah didn’t recognize what was happening at first. * Vs 6 - the secret to accomplishing what God wants you to accomplish is by the SPIRIT doing it through you! * Vs 7 - when the Spirit is involved you can do the impossible. * Vs 8-9 - w/God’s help, Zerubbabel will complete the task - “you can do it!” * Encouragement is to “make courageous.” (Terri Furr with Tori - “you can do this!”) * Vs 10a - how you handle the small things can make those things sacred!! * Vs 10b - God is watching! * Vs 11-14 - the two branches represent the king and priest. * As we operate as Kings in the marketplace led by the heart of a Priest, we will accomplish all God wants us to accomplish!