Zechariah

Zechariah 1:1-6

February 11, 2024 • Brent Stephens • Zechariah 1:1–6

Scripture teaches that “for everything, there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The book of Zechariah begins with a specific time stamp: “In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius” (Zechariah 1:1), which means the book dates back to October or November in the year 520 BC. During this time, God’s people, who had returned sixteen years earlier to the land He had given them, were still under Persian rule. Israel was in disrepair with broken-down walls. Just two months earlier, through the Word of the Lord given to the prophet Haggai, work on the temple had resumed (Haggai 1:8). God has already begun His movement towards His people, and now He is about to begin the movement of His people toward Himself. To do this, God raises up another prophet by the name of Zechariah, whose name means, “the Lord remembered.” Zechariah was a younger man who had been born during the exile and raised under Babylonian and Persian captivity. He was of the priestly line of Levi (Nehemiah 12:1-16). We learn in the New Testament from the mouth of Jesus that he was an innocent man who was “murdered between the temple and the altar” (Matthew 23:35). Zechariah was chosen and called by God to speak the Word of the Lord to God’s people at this divine time.

Zechariah 1:7-21

February 18, 2024 • Brent Stephens • Zechariah 1:7–21

Three months after that first oracle of Zechariah’s ministry, recorded in Zechariah 1:1-6, he receives the first of eight visions that come to him in the night. Each of these visions follows a basic pattern: Zechariah sees something, asks the angel about it, and is told by the angel what it means. The general idea of this first vision is that God will overcome whatever difficulties Judah is experiencing. He will rescue His people.

Zechariah 2:1-13

February 25, 2024 • Jeremy Brannon • Zechariah 2:1–3

Same evening. Another vision. We have all seen the city limit signs on the side of the road as we drive down the highway. They indicate the boundaries of the city, telling us where the city begins and where it ends. These signs represent defined borders that distinguish a city from other areas around it. Imagine a city with no boundaries, no borders, and no limits. The city is what the prophet Zechariah sees in his third vision of the evening, which is meant to provide great hope and comfort to God’s remnant who are in a very discouraging situation.

Zechariah 3:1-10

March 3, 2024 • Daniel Pernell • Zechariah 3

Imagine that a dear friend you have not seen in years comes by as you are doing yard work. You’d love to throw your arms around your friend, but your clothes are caked in grime and muck and you smell like a barnyard. What you want at that moment is to stop time, go shower up and get a change of clothes! Here in Zechariah 3, God continues to restore His people, whose priests are unclean and unable to stand before Him in worship and sacrifice. God alone can provide the cleansing and the righteousness that they need in order to draw near to Him.

Zechariah 4 Part I

March 10, 2024 • Brent Stephens • Zechariah 4

In Zechariah’s fifth vision, he is shown a golden lampstand. The Hebrew word for this lamp is “menorah.” The fact this particular lamp is gold is symbolic of the lamps included in the temple furnishings: one in the tabernacle and later, ten in Solomon’s Temple (Exodus 25:31-40; 1 Kings 7:49). It was the job of the priests to ensure these lamps were filled with oil and kept burning at all times (Leviticus 24:1-4).

Zechariah 4 Part II

March 17, 2024 • Brent Stephens • Zechariah 4

In Zechariah’s fifth vision, he is shown a golden lampstand. The Hebrew word for this lamp is “menorah.” The fact this particular lamp is gold is symbolic of the lamps included in the temple furnishings: one in the tabernacle and later, ten in Solomon’s Temple (Exodus 25:31-40; 1 Kings 7:49). It was the job of the priests to ensure these lamps were filled with oil and kept burning at all times (Leviticus 24:1-4).

Zechariah 5:1-11

March 24, 2024 • Jeremy Brannon • Zechariah 5

As we begin chapter 5, we see the prophet Zechariah having two separate visions, the sixth and seventh that are recorded in this book: the Flying Scroll, and the Woman in a Basket. Though the two visions are different, they clearly go together to form one bigger message: that sin is revealed through the law, sin is judged, and then sin is removed.

Zechariah 6:1-8

March 31, 2024 • Brent Stephens • Zechariah 6:1–8

We’ve seen horses before in Zechariah (see Zechariah 1:7-17). In his eighth and final vision of the evening, Zechariah again sees horses. This time, the vision is not against the background of darkness, as it was in chapter 1. Rather, Zechariah’s eighth vision is set against the background of dawn. Hope is breaking through for God’s discouraged people. They are to get their eyes off of their bleak circumstances and onto their sovereign God, who is working out His rule and reign in this world for the benefit of His people. Our circumstances are never beyond the reach of hope!

Zechariah 6:9-15

April 7, 2024 • Brent Stephens • Zechariah 6:9–15

In Zechariah 3, Zechariah’s visions introduced a character called “the Branch,” who will bring about restoration and new growth in God’s people. In Zechariah 6:9-15, the Branch is spoken of again, and we learn that the Branch is a priest who is crowned like a king. This brings hope and purpose to the exiles of Judah, who are charged with restoring the city of Jerusalem and its temple.

Zechariah 7

April 14, 2024 • Brent Stephens • Zechariah 7

Chapter 7 begins almost two years after the last of the eight visions Zechariah received. Things have been going well in Jerusalem. The temple is being rebuilt and is just a few years at this point from being finished. Leadership is established through Zerubbabel, and the priesthood is active through Joshua. Word has reached all around the surrounding areas that the prophets, speaking for God, have returned to the holy city. These are exciting times in the city, but also for local areas that once benefited from the prosperity of Jerusalem in her flourishing days of old. Things are really turning around and future fortune seems just around the corner. These new times bring new questions to the minds of those living in the vicinity of temple progress. And who better to answer these questions than the leaders and prophets of Jerusalem?

Zechariah 8

April 21, 2024 • Brent Stephens • Zechariah 8

Twice in our passage, God reminds the people of the destruction He brought on them because of their disobedience. In verse 10, God calls attention to the economic and social state of things under the curse. When a society is under a curse from Almighty God, it is not difficult to look around and see the effects of that curse. God used the Babylonians to utterly destroy Judah and its capital city, Jerusalem. He again reminds those who returned from their exile that He “purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath, and I did not relent” (v. 14). When God purposes to do something, there is nothing that will stop Him from accomplishing it. Even after King Josiah’s reforms in 2 Kings 23, God still was not dissuaded from the destruction of the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

Zechariah 9

April 28, 2024 • Daniel Pernell • Zechariah 9

Zechariah 9 marks a major shift in the book. From here through the end of the book, the chapters contain prophetic oracles, and this chapter holds one of two major ones. Given the state of Judah as a remnant people under the power of a foreign nation, will God’s promises still stand? This question must be at the forefront of the minds of those who have journeyed back from exile. In chapter 9, the prophet gives a different perspective to the people longing for hope: there is hope coming, but not how they might expect. Hope will come in the future through a humble king.

Zechariah 10:1-11:3 Part 1

May 5, 2024 • Brent Stephens • Zechariah 10, Zechariah 11:1–3

The people of Judah are easily discouraged and distracted as they try to restore their nation. At times they waywardly look away from the Lord for provision, direction, and strength and become like lost sheep. Thankfully, God has not left them alone. Zechariah is sent with a message of correction and encouragement. His message not only reminds God’s people that God will shepherd them, but that the coming Messiah will bring stability and protection.

Zechariah 10:1-11:3 Part 2

May 12, 2024 • Brent Stephens • Zechariah 10, Zechariah 11:1–3

When we read Scripture, we learn about real people who live in real historical times. We learn their names, get to know their families, and study their character traits and accomplishments —or lack thereof. It’s very easy for Christians to over-focus on the human elements in the Bible and completely miss the real power that is at work behind the scenes. Scripture is clear that there is a spiritual realm that is constantly influencing the physical world of man. All the unrighteous, called sons of disobedience, live under the direction of Satan and his fallen angels (Ephesians 2:1-2). Likewise, all those who say “Jesus is Lord” are under the sway of the Holy Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 12:3). This spiritual reality is made very clear in this section of Zechariah.

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