Study Notes Ed Underwood

 Zechariah The King Is Coming!

“‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord who rules over all.” (Zechariah 4:6) The seventeen Books of Prophecy record the messages of the writing prophets (those whose messages are preserved in writing) God raised up to speak for Him following the ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. The failings of the Divided Kingdom Era prompted God to speak to Israel in the north and Judah in the south. They continued to speak to God’s people for over 400 years, including the exile to Babylonia and the return to the Promise Land. (1 Kings 12-Esther) The prophets spoke for God to His people concerning the enforcement of terms of their covenant relationship with God. Each spoke to a specific generation of Israel or Judah to enforce the conditional covenant (Mosaic) in the context of the unconditional covenants flowing from the Abrahamic Covenant. Their message can be summed up in these sentences: You are mine! (Unconditional covenants, Romans 11:29). Walk with me and I will bless you. Walk away from me and I will call you back to myself through loving discipline (Conditional covenant, Romans 9-11).

The Jews had been living in exile in Babylonia for 70 years. They had not been able to practice their formal worship as the Mosaic Law prescribed, because the Babylonians had destroyed their Temple and they had no authorized altar for sacrifices. They were forced to settle for private and public prayers while facing toward Jerusalem (Daniel 6:10). They gathered in synagogues to hear the Law read and worship God in exile.

Imagine their joy when King Cyrus of Persia allowed them to return to their land in 538 B.C. The first wave of 50,000 Jewish pilgrims returned under the leadership of Zerubbabel. They enthusiastically rebuilt the brazen altar and resumed offering sacrifices, and laid the foundation for the reconstruction of the second Temple. They even celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles that first year. Envision their discouragement when Samaritan leaders with ties to the Persian authorities resisted their Temple construction. The former exiles felt threatened and unable to accomplish God’s first priority for the returning remnant—reestablish worship that glorifies Him. They went about their daily routine, and concentrated on rebuilding their lives—their businesses, their homes, and their farms—while ignoring their mandate to rebuild the Temple.

Sixteen years later, God called Haggai and Zechariah to expose their misplaced priorities and challenge them to rebuild the Temple, because God had greater plans for them than they ever imagined. In 520 B.C. Zechariah encouraged the returning remnant to rebuild the Temple by inspiring hope in the discouraged community. His book, the “Revelation” of the Old Testament, persuaded the Jews to lift their eyes to see the larger purposes and plans of their God. The Lord who rules over all is at work for His people and is moving history toward the return of His King—first to save, and then to reign. “[Zechariah’s] book is the most Messianic, the most truly apocalyptic and eschatological, of al the writing of the Old Testament.” (Joyce G. Baldwin, “Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary, pp. 69-70)

Zechariah’s message reminds discouraged believers of all generations that in spite of difficult circumstances, God’s all-encompassing power and unrelenting purpose cannot be resisted:

Zechariah emphasizes the irresistible power of God: “The Lord of Hosts” (“Lord who rules over all,” NET) occurs 35 times.

I. EIGHT VISIONS (1:1-6:8): The book opens with an introductory appeal to the people to repent and return to God unlike their fathers who rejected the warnings of the prophets (1:1-6). A few months later, Zechariah has a series of eight night visions, evidently in one troubled night. The first five are visions of comfort, and the last three are visions of judgment. The angel who speaks with him interprets the visions, but some of the symbols are not explained.

Zechariah: Your King is coming!

Live with confidence in His unseen power and unfulfilled promises.

Vision

Horses Among the Trees Four Horns & Four Craftsmen Man with the Measuring Line Cleansing of Joshua Golden Lampstand & Olive Trees Flying Scroll Woman in Basket Four Chariots

What they knew ...

Their depressing circumstances The power of their enemies About Jerusalem Their adversary Responsibility to be light Present sins Widespread evil Need for God in chaos

What they didn’t know ...

The presence of a watching angel God’s plan to destroy the enemies Jerusalem’s glorious future Their divine advocate Supernatural resources Response to sin God would purge evil God would win

*from the notes on Zechariah, by Tom Constable II. THE CROWNING OF JOSHUA (6:9-15): The crowning of Joshua (6:9-15) anticipates the coming of

the Branch who will be King and Priest (the composite crown).

III. FOUR MESSAGES (7-8): In response to a question about the continuation of the fasts (7:1-3), God gives Zechariah a series of four messages—a rebuke of empty ritualism, a reminder of past disobedience, the restoration and consolation of Israel, and the recovery of joy in the kingdom. God’s point is that it is more important how you live than how you fast (7:8-14). Rather than celebrating the fasts of the exile to commemorate their past failures, they should now commemorate the feasts to celebrate God’s blessing in the land.

IV. TWO BURDENS: The first burden (9-11) primarily concerns the First Advent and rejection of Israel’s coming King. The second burden (12-14) primarily concerns the Second Advent of Christ and the acceptance of Israel’s King. The Jews of Jesus’ day had missed the distinction between these two imbedded events. Like all the prophecies concerning the coming career of Messiah-King, we know now that the prophet was describing two events that were blurred into one. This is the “telescopic” or “foreshortening” principle of understanding prophecy. The prophets are presenting two mountain peaks—the First and Second Coming of Messiah—but not the valley in between—the time of the Gentiles, the Church Age. With New Testament perspective, we see this foreshortening in Zechariah.

9:9 speaks of the 1

st

st Advent, 9:10, the 2nd. 11:7-16 speaks of the 1 Advent, chapter 12, the 2nd. 13:7

st speaks of the 1 Advent, 13:8-9, the 2 . Peter describes this dynamic and our need to carefully divide

the Scriptures: “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who predicted the grace that would come to you searched and investigated carefully. They probed into what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified beforehand about the sufferings appointed for Christ (1st Advent) and his subsequent glory (2nd Advent)” (1 Pet 1:10-11)

ZECHARIAH AND YOU: Your King is coming! Evil happens, but God will eventually defeat evil. His power cannot be resisted and His purposes cannot be thwarted. He is moving history toward His end, despite human and Satanic opposition. Even though we live in times of darkness and discouragement, we should live with the unshakeable confidence in His presence, power, and promises. What is hard in your life right now? What difficult or discouraging assignment have you received from God?

“‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord who rules over all.” (The Lord of Hosts to Zerubbabel, Zechariah 4:6)

For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comprehension, because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.” (Paul, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

QUESTIONS: Where does it hurt? What don’t you understand? Take that hurt and that confusion and plant it into a garden of trust and hope. Don’t put your faith in circumstance; put your faith in the Rejected One who will be crowned in His Kingdom!

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