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 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 to rule in 522.
Four things will encourage us if we work through this book in a particular way. First, relax and just 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 encountering some alien literary forms, and we should begin by letting those forms “happen” to us. Repeatedly. Do not try to squeeze this book into any existing categories you might have in your mind. Second, remember this prophet’s companions. Zechariah ministered alongside Haggai. As you read and reread this prophecy of Zechariah, take care to read his contemporary and companion in ministry. Third, remember the impact of this short book. 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 last, remember the principle of 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 Old Testament passages. Further, the apostolic writers teach us how to handle such passages. In other words, we should learn our hermeneutic from the apostles. Compare Zech. 3:2 with Jude 9, Zech. 8:16 with Eph. 4:25, Zech. 9:9 with Matt. 21:5 and John 12:15, Zech. 11:12-13 with Matt. 26:15 and Matt. 27:9-10, Zech. 12:10 with John 19:37 and Rev. 1:7, and Zech. 13:7 with Matt. 26:31 and Mark 14:27.
The prophecy of Zechariah comes to us in four distinct parts. The first portion is introductory — the introduction is simply the first six verses of the books (Zech. 1:1-6). The second section is a series of symbolic “night visions,” bringing us to the end of chapter six (Zech. 1:7-6:15). The didactic or teaching portion of the book is found in chapters 7 and 8 (Zech. 7:1-8:23). And last, 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)
We want to learn how to learn 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. We find no salvation in turning to the ways of our fathers. This is difficult or easy to understand, depending upon what our fathers were doing. In this instance, “do not be like your fathers,” Zechariah says. We learn that all flesh is grass — your fathers who were disobedient are all dead. The prophets who rebuked them all are also dead. In contrast to both rebel and servant, the word of the Lord continues on. Just 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. And last, 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.