A call to return to the lord. Zechariah 1:1-17
INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH
The prophet Zechariah lived at the same time as Haggai and was interested in the same effort to induce the Jews to carry on the rebuilding of their neglected Temple. The prophecies are dated a few years later than those of Haggai. In contrast to the direct and simple language of Haggai, Zechariah employs many figures and symbols to enforce his message. He especially wished to give encouragement and help to the leader and governor of the people, Zerubbabel, and the priest Joshua.
In the latter part of the book there are many pictures of the glorious and happy future, which God had in store for His people and of the Deliverer, who was to come to rule over them. There will come a great day “when the Lord shall be King over all the earth.”
The Oracle of the Lord of Hosts
INTRODUCTION, Zec_1:1-6
I. EIGHT VISIONS CONCERNING ISRAEL, JUDAH, AND JERUSALEM, Zechariah 1:7-6:15
1. The Horses among the Myrtles, Zec_1:7-17
A CALL TO RETURN TO THE LORD
In the eighth month of the second year [of the reign] of Darius [the king of Persia], the word of the LORD came to Zechariah (the LORD remembers) the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, [Ezr_5:1]
“The LORD was extremely angry with your fathers.
Therefore say to the Jews, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts (armies), “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and I shall return to you.
Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Repent [that is, change your way of thinking] and return now from your evil way [of life] and from your evil deeds.”‘ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me,” declares the LORD. [2Ki_17:13; Isa_45:22; Jer_18:11; Eze_33:11]
“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
But did not My words (warnings) and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts planned to do to us [in discipline and punishment], in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so has He dealt with us.'”‘”
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (Feb 15, 519 B.C.), which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of [the reign of] Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows:
A VISION OF A HORSEMAN
In the night I saw [a vision] and behold, a Man was riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees that were in the ravine; and behind Him were horses: red, sorrel (reddish-brown), and white.
Then I said, “O my lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said, “I will show you what these are.”
And the Man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to go throughout the earth and patrol it.”
And the men on the horses answered the Angel of the LORD who stood among the myrtle trees and said, “We have gone throughout the earth [patrolling it] and behold, all the earth sits at rest [in peace and free from war].”
Then the Angel of the LORD said, “O LORD of hosts, how long will You withhold mercy and compassion from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which You have had indignation and anger these seventy years [of the Babylonian captivity]?”
And the LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious and comforting words.
So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I am jealous [with a burning, fiery passion] for Jerusalem and for Zion [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine] with a great jealousy.
But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease and feel secure; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster [against the people of Israel].”
‘Therefore, thus says the LORD, “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy and compassion. My house shall be built in it,” says the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.”‘
“Proclaim again, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD shall again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”‘”
A VISION OF PARDON AND RESTORATION
Zechariah does not slur over the sins of the past, but lays stress on the divine forgiveness. His only fear is lest God should call in vain, and the people refuse as their fathers did. Notice the repetition of God’s title, Lord of Hosts, five times in the first six verses. The enemy’s armies were vast, but the protecting hosts, vaster. A glimpse of these hosts is given in the following vision. A green valley, filled with myrtles, the emblem of humility, where the prophet may have been wont to meditate, seemed alive with mysterious figures, who had been patrolling the earth, and announced that it was peace, for these were the days of Cyrus’ illustrious reign. Notice the frequent reference to his celestial friend, Zec_1:9; Zec_1:14; Zec_1:19; Zec_4:1; Zec_4:4-5; Zec_5:5; Zec_5:10; Zec_6:4. The future was bright with promise, Zec_1:16-17.
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