Zechariah

Hope...Christ within the hope of glory! We must move our mindset from past failures and disappointments to the promises of God for salvation in Jesus Christ and the promise of the Holy Spirit given to guide and protect us when we accept His gift. With God...hope springs eternal!

Zechariah the Prophet

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.

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.

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.” This powerful phrase communicates a message of hope: 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.

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.