The Prophet Zechariah

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.