Zechariah

Zechariah the Prophet and the book

God uses His chosen people to be His voice.
We must learn to listen and to heed the messages He gives us.
Love, God's great agape love, should guide us in all we do.

True religion, according to Zechariah, is not found merely in external acts of religious piety, but is based upon a personal relationship with God. Such a relationship with God should change one's attitude to one's neighbors. Like the prophets before him, Zechariah condemned the oppression of the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor. As a preacher of righteousness, he called God's people back to the virtues of justice, kindness, compassion, and truth.

Encouragement and hope are the underlying themes of the prophecies of Zechariah. The prophet Zechariah was one of the three prophets, along with Haggai and Malachi, who ministered to the exiles returning to Jerusalem. These exiles faced the ruins of what had once been a splendid city and a glorious temple. There was much to be sad about, but Zechariah encouraged the exiles with visions of judgment on Israel's enemies and of the complete restoration of the city of Jerusalem. Yet the most thrilling vision of all was the prediction of a coming King—the Messiah who would bring eternal salvation and the promised eternal kingdom.

The name Zechariah means "Yahweh Remembers." The God of Israel will mercifully remember His people. The prophet is identified as "the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo." Iddo was among the heads of the priestly families that returned from Babylon to Judah. Zechariah, then, was a member of the tribe of Levi and probably served as both a priest and a prophet. He entered his prophetic ministry two months after his contemporary Haggai had concluded his first oracle. Zechariah began his prophetic ministry in the second year of the Persian king Darius (522–486 b.c.) and his last dated prophecy was delivered two years later, in 518 b.c.

Zechariah lived and prophesied during the period following the Babylonian captivity (597–538 b.c.). Jeremiah had predicted that the Israelites would return to the Promised Land after 70 years of discipline in exile. The first group of Jews returned under the leadership of Sheshbazzar (Ezra 1:8) in 537 b.c. The altar for the temple was erected in the fall of that year, but construction of the temple itself did not begin until the spring of 536 b.c.

Opposition to the temple rebuilding by enemies of the Jews living in and around Judah resulted in the abandonment of the work until 520 b.c. During these 16 years of neglect the people of Judah lost their vision and sense of spiritual purpose. Their procrastination resulted in divine chastening (Hag. 1:11; 2:17). Although the crops failed and the people languished, they did not repent until God raised up two prophets to turn the people back to Himself. In 520 b.c., Haggai called for the Israelites to recognize their spiritual priorities and rebuild the temple. Zechariah began his prophetic ministry just two months after Haggai. With the people committed to restoring the worship of the Lord and the temple, God poured out His blessing on a repentant and spiritually revitalized people. The temple was completed in 515 b.c. and rededicated with great rejoicing.

Zechariah's prophecies had two purposes. First, they challenged the returning exiles to turn to the Lord, to be cleansed from their sins and to experience again the Lord's blessing. Second, Zechariah's words comforted and encouraged the people regarding the rebuilding of the temple and God's future work among His people.

The Lord had not set aside His ancient covenant people. Through Zechariah, God not only reaffirmed Jerusalem's divine election, but promised to come among His returning people and live in their midst. It was through His personal presence among His people that God would accomplish a miraculous
work. This is the overarching theme of the book: The complete restoration of God's people would occur in the redeeming and delivering work of the coming Messiah.

Along with his emphasis on the Messiah, Zechariah appropriately gives an important message about God's plan for salvation. The removal of the high priest's filthy garments and the provision of clean festal robes illustrates the work of Christ. Through His atoning death, Christ strips us of our filthy sins and clothes us with His own righteousness. In this way we can approach our holy God.