Introduction:
This portion of the Word of God came to us through Zechariah, son of Berechiah. For our purposes here, we will not assume any textual error in Matt. 23:35 where Jesus says that Zechariah, son of Berechaiah, was murdered between the temple and the altar. This had also happened to Zechariah, son of Jehoidah, in 2 Chron. 24:20-22. But Zechariah was a very common name, and martyrdom was common to the faithful.
The Text:
“In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,” (Zechariah 1:1-6).
Historical Background:
The nation of Judah had been taken into exile in Babylon. This Babylonian captivity lasted from 586-539 BC. The first return to the land was shortly before the ministry of Zechariah, which began in 520 BC. This is just several months after the ministry of Haggai began. During Zechariah’s time, the dominant empire was that of the Persians. Darius I began his rule in 522.
Understanding This Book:
Although the context is the same as we find in Haggai, the images are much more vivid and apocalyptic, and therefore more difficult for moderns to understand. Four things will encourage you as we work through this book.
Just relax and read—do not try to read this book as though it were a letter of Paul. Do not try to dismantle and analyze as you go. You will be learning some alien literary forms, and you must begin by letting those forms “happen” to you. Repeatedly. Do not try to squeeze this book into any existing categories you might have in your mind.
Mind his prophetic companions—Zechariah ministered alongside Haggai. As you read and reread this prophecy of Zechariah, take care to read his contemporary and companion in ministry.
Note the impact—second only to the book of Ezekiel, the prophecy of Zechariah had a profound impact on the book of Revelation. This is not revealed through direct quotation, but through many allusions and symbols. Take care also to read the book of Revelation after you have read Zechariah, taking special note of any similarities.
And remember we have an inspired interpretation—the New Testament writers teach us what many Old Testament passages mean. This in turn sheds much light on the original context of the OT passage. Further, the apostolic writers teach us how to handle such passages. In other words, we learn our hermeneutic from the apostles.
“And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; Even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” (Zech. 3:2). See Jude 9.
“These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:” (Zech. 8:16). See Eph. 4:25.
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zech. 9:9). See Matt. 21:5 and John 12:15.
“And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.” (Zech. 11:12–13). See Matt. 26:15 and Matt. 27:9-10
“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, The spirit of grace and of supplications: And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, And they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, And shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” (Zech. 12:10). See John 19:37 and Rev. 1:7
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, Saith the Lord of hosts: Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: And I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.” (Zech. 13:7). See Matt. 26:31 and Mark 14:27.
The Prophetic Collection:
The prophecy of Zechariah comes to us in four distinct parts.
Introductory—the introduction is simply the first six verses of the books (Zech. 1:1-6).
Symbolic—the second section is a series of symbolic “night visions,” bringing us to the end of chapter six (Zech. 1:7-6:15). These night visions are chiastic. Visions 1 and 8 have the colored horses. Visions 2 and 3 match visions 6 and 7, and deal with obstacles the people were facing as they rebuilt the Temple. Visions 4 and 5 are the centerpiece, and deal with encouraging the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua.
Didactic—the teaching portion of the book is found in chapters 7 and 8 (Zech. 7:1-8:23). A question arises about fasting, and the people are told to turn their fasting into rejoicing (8:18-19).
Prophetic—in the prophetic section of the book we find two great oracles. The first (Zech. 9:1-11:17) prophesies the coming of the Shepherd King, and the second deals with the salvation of the entire world (Zech. 12:1-14:20). The coming king will be killed, but the kingdom triumphs regardless.
Learning From History:
The prophet is bringing a word of encouragement to the people. But he does not gloss over sin in order to bring a false encouragement. Gospel encouragement is not possible apart from genuine and true repentance.
Wrath and encouragement—we find no salvation in turning to the ways of our fathers. This is good or bad, depending upon what our fathers were doing. In this instance, “do not be like your fathers,” Zechariah says.
All flesh is grass—your fathers who were disobedient are all dead. The prophets who rebuked them all also dead. In contrast to both rebel and servant, the word of the Lord continues on.
Look around—the land was originally a land of milk and honey. After the return from exile, the children of Israel were standing in the midst of a great ruin.
Remember —one of the great features of the biblical sermon is the call to remember. One of the great sins in Scripture is that of forgetting. What the Lord said He would do to the fathers, He has most certainly done. Look around you, remember the Word of the Lord, and draw conclusions.
From a post-mil perspective, what do the glorious prophecies about “that day” in chap’s 12-14 mean? For example:
1. “In all the land… two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.” (13:8)?
2. When did the Mount of Olives cleave in the midst (14:4)?
3. When did the Canaanites leave the house of the Lord (14:21)?
Is there any chance that the book of Zechariah could change your eschatology?
My perspective is that this refers to the war of the Church to convert the nations throughout its entire history. This eschatological battle is most commonly known as the “Battle of Gog and Magog”, but Ezekiel 38-39 is only one of the places it’s described. It’s also described in Isaiah 66, Joel 2-3, and elsewhere. See:
http://kabane52.tumblr.com/post/110281665680/gog-and-magog
Zechariah 12-14 (apparently) consists of seven ‘festal’ cycles (based on Lev. 23), so the visions which established this ‘new Jerusalem’ (in 1-6) mirror these prophecies concerning its end. 1) 12:1-9 (Creation/Sabbath) – Promise of victory and rest, this initial sevenfold ‘week’ sets the pattern for this entire cycle. 2) 12:10-14 – 13:1 (Division/Passover) – Mourning express in a festal pattern: Spirit (Sabbath/Ark – Day 1), only son (Passover/Veil – Day 2), firstborn son (Firstfruits/Altar+Table – Day 3), death of king Josiah (Pentecost/Lampstand – Day 4), royal priesthood (Trumpets/Incense – Day 5), fountain opened (Atonement/Laver – Day 6), for cleansing (Booths/Rest… Read more »
Here you go… the same but in more detail (and slightly more correct!)
The Festal Structure of Zechariah 12-14
The prophecies in the final chapters of Zechariah, taken in isolation, are extremely confusing. They seem to describe, very darkly, some events which took place in the first century. Yet they also describe some things which clearly did not take place. Or did they?
http://bit.ly/1J4miTV
Is there any chance that the book of Zechariah could change your eschatology?
Fitting these chapters into postmil seems like old-earthers trying to squeeze millions of years out of “the evening and the morning.” It is a fearful thing to choose our presuppositions since they control what we do with the words.
But Seth, it’s clearly the old Jerusalem and its Temple in view. Hebrews tells us that the Temple veil was Jesus’ flesh, and that the first century saints had assembled at a heavenly mountain. All the clues are there if we are willing to look. A rejection of typology is also a presupposition.
So, there’s no chance that a study of Zechariah could change your position?
Why would it? It fits perfectly with everything the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles say about the imminent end of the Old Covenant and circumcision. I could read it out of historical and Covenant context, ignore its careful structure and brilliant allusions to previous Scripture and architecture, its clear references to first century events, and then also ignore the New Testament, but then I’d have to have some reason to do so. Why turn the book into something which it is not? You can sit around waiting for Olivet to split, but the original hearers knew what was going on… Read more »
Well, that question could apply equally to folks of a different eschatological persuasion, after reading certain passages and or arguments for opposing eschatologies. If the implication is that one who remains postmill after reading Zechariah has by definition shown themselves unwilling to give a fair hearing, then it seems the definition of open-mindedness has been reduced simply to whether or not one changes one’s mind.
Yes, Matt. I agree that each position has its own strong passages. However, Zechariah is typically seen as one of those strong passages for pre-mil. I can see that. Can Doug, Mike, and Matt? As a convinced pre-mil, I hold it happily and firmly, yet tri-perspectivalism has at least taught me to recognize that there is a whole category of difficult passages for we pessimistic evangelists. Will my optimistic brothers openly admit when the other side has scored? Watts’ says our confidence should be in proportion to the evidence. If so, then on the basis of Zechariah only, the jovial… Read more »