Illus: A Baptist pastor enters a clearing in woods to find a herd of sheep and a shepherd! He talks with shepherd, and in jest says:
• “If I can guess exactly how many sheep you have, will you give me one to start my collection?”
• The shepherd said, “Yes, if you can look at this herd of sheep and tell me how many I have, I will be glad to give you one to start a herd.”
• The pastor looked the herd over and immediately said, “You have exactly 437 sheep!”
• The shepherd said, “Wow, how did you guess that?”
• The pastor said, “Oh, I have the ability of guessing numbers.”
• He made his selection of the herd and began to walk away!
• The shepherd says, “If I can guess what you do for a living, can I have my sheep back?”
• The pastor thought, I have not done anything to indicate I am a Baptist pastor, so he said, “Sure, if you can guess what I do for a living you can have your sheep back!”
• The shepherd said, “You are a Baptist pastor!”
• The pastor said, “How did you know I was a Baptist pastor?
• “Put my dog down, and I’ll tell you!”
The Bible tells us a great deal about the prophet Zechariah. We do not have to guess; the Bible is very specific about many things in his life.
For example, let’s look at-
I. THE MAN
The scriptures reveal many things about this man.
• The prophet Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai, and both were contemporaries of the leaders of the early Judean restoration, under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua.
• Zechariah prophesied in Jerusalem from 520 to 518 B.C.
• Zechariah's prophecy took the shape of visions and dialogues with God.
• He was a prophet of Judah, and the eleventh of the twelve Minor Prophets.
• Like Ezekiel and Jeremiah, he came from a priestly background.
• His prophetic career began in the second year of Darius, King of Persia (B.C. 520), about sixteen years after the return of the first company from their Babylonian exile.
WHAT HAVE MEN SAID ABOUT THIS MAN?
• Adam Clarke said, "Zechariah is the longest and most obscure of all the twelve minor prophets".
• Homer Hailey said, "It is the most difficult of any of the OT books to interpret".
• Robinson said, Zechariah, "Is the most Messianic, the most truly apocalyptic and eschatological, of all the writings of the OT".
• Ryrie Study Bible says, "Zechariah predicted more about the Messiah than any other prophet except Isaiah".
• Jack Lewis said, "Zechariah has exercised a greater influence upon the Messianic picture of the NT than any other Minor Prophet".
• The Expanded Open Bible says, “There are prophecies concerning His first coming --- 3:8; 9:9, 16; 11:11-13; 12:10; 13:1, 6-7, and there are prophecies concerning His second coming in Chapter 14. Christ is portrayed in His two advents as both:
(1) Servant and King
(2) Man and God."
• Jack Lewis also points out that, "Zechariah exercised other influences on the NT. For example, the reader of the Book of Revelation may also find here the antecedent of certain pictures employed by that writer."
1. The four horsemen - Zech. 6:1-8 - Rev. 6:1-8
2. The two olive trees - Zech. 4:3f - Rev. 11:4
3. The lampstand & seven eyes - Zech. 4:2-10; - Rev. 1:12f
The name Zechariah (Hebrew: Zekar-yah) means "Yahweh has remembered."
This was a very common Hebrew name. There are 30 different men with this name mentioned in the Bible.
It is also very likely he was just a young man at this time. Look at Zech. 2:4, we read, “And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein.” He was likely born in Babylon, and perhaps had just become a priest at the time the exiles returned to Jerusalem.
Jewish tradition states that Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi were the founders of the Great Synagogue.
The Greek Old Testament (The Septuagint) also credits Zechariah and Haggai as being the co-authors of several of the Psalms.
Zechariah, "Has been called the prophet with 'the soul of an artist and the eye of a seer'" (H.I. Hester, The Heart of Hebrew History).
We looked at the man, now look at -
II. THE MESSAGE
The Book of Zechariah may be divided into three parts.
• After an exhortation admonishing the Jews to be obedient to the words of the Lord, we have eight visions.
• The second part of the Book contains a message with both admonition and promise.
• The third part contains a prophetic description of the future of God’s people.
Zechariah was concerned about the religious purity of the people and the morals of Jerusalem's leaders. To that end he attempted to inspire them.
In visions, Zechariah glimpsed the changes ahead.
• In one vision he saw four horsemen patrolling the earth in anticipation of the punishment of the foreign nations, and the return to power of Jerusalem.
• In another he saw four horns representing world powers and four blacksmiths who would destroy those horns.
• In another he saw a man measuring Jerusalem for the rebuilding of its walls, who was then told that the city would be huge, and Yahweh would be its protecting wall.
The Zondervan's Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible tells us, “Zechariah began to prophecy at the time when zeal for the ideals of the theocracy had reached a very low ebb…As was the case with Haggai, the primary concern of Zechariah was the establishing of spiritual priorities in the life of the returned community."
The Encouraging Words from God: There are 8 responses the Lord gives
1. The Lord is jealous for Jerusalem (Zech 8:2) “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.”
2. He is angry at the nations that feel secure. Though God blessed them for a time, they have not sought the Lord.
3. He will rebuild the temple. The worship of God and His relationship with them will be restored.
4. He will have mercy on them.
5. He will give them great prosperity in Jerusalem
6. He will be a comfort to Zion
7. He will choose Jerusalem again. The time of wrath is over and now God is with Israel and His favor is upon them.
8. His blessings of the whole land are told.
The following are a few of Zechariah's explicit anticipations of Christ:
• The Angel of the Lord - 3:1
• The Stone with seven eyes - 3:9
• The Righteous Branch - 3:8; 6:12-13
• The King/Priest - 6:13
• The humble King - 9:9-10
• The cornerstone, tent peg, & bow of battle - 10:4
• The Good Shepherd who is rejected & sold for 30 shekels of silver, the price of a slave - 11:4-13
• The pierced One - 12:10
• The cleansing fountain - 13:1
• The smitten Shepherd who is abandoned - 13:7
• The coming Judge & righteous King - chapter 14
Let me give you a brief summary of the book in outline form.
A. PROMISE
Look at Zechariah 1:13-17, we read, “And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.”
Here the Lord promises to rebuild the cities and prosper them. He was jealous for these cities and was determined to rebuild them.
B. PROTECTION
Look at Zechariah 2:5-8, we read, “For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”
Here, the Lord promises protection and starts to fulfill His promise of rebuilding by sending an angel to measure the city. The Lord promises to be a wall of fire round the city. Zech. 2:8 says, “…for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”
C. PURIFICATION
Look at Zechariah 3:1-4, we read, “And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 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? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.”
Here we find God’s purification. Satan stands as an accuser of God’s people. Joshua the high priest was standing in filthy garments. The Lord removed these filthy garments and gave him a change of garments. The Lord rebuked Satan for his accusations and called Joshua as a brand plucked out of the fire. The Lord is our Saviour and justifier. He purifies us and prepares us to receive his blessing.
D. POWER
Look at Zechariah 4:6-10, we read, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”
The Lord promises his power to bring deliverance and victory. Not by might, nor by power but by the Spirit of God there is deliverance from every situation. The mountain will become a plain by the power of the Holy Spirit. We should not despise the day of small things.
E. PUNISHMENT
Look at Zechariah 5:3-4. We read, “Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.”
Here we find God’s punishment upon the wicked. God’s patience should not be mistaken as his approval of sin. There is a day of judgement when all mankind will receive due reward or punishment according to what they deserve.
Conclusion:
We have looked at the prophet Zechariah:
I. THE MAN
II. THE MESSAGE
