Lesson 11: A Message from Zechariah

“…‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” 
Zechariah 4:6b

Historical Background

When the Persian King Cyrus conquered the Babylonian empire in 538 B.C. (refer to PONS chart), he soon issued a decree allowing the Israelites who were in captivity there to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple. The book of Ezra (Cf. 1:2-4; 4:1-5; 6:3-5) chronicles the homecoming of a portion of Israelites to Judah under the leadership of Governor Zerubbabel. In Ezra we see the beginning of the temple building, the completion of the foundation, and opposition from the Samaritans that halts construction for approximately ten years (c.530-520 B.C.; Cf. Ezra 4:24).

Darius, after a decade of transition and uncertainty, takes leadership of the Persian nation in 520 B.C. Enter Haggai and Zechariah, post-exilic (“after the exile”) prophets of the Almighty God. These two urge Zerubbabel and he resumes work on the temple in 518 B.C. The work is successful, and according to Ezra 6:15-18, the temple is finished and dedicated by 515 B.C. 

Zechariah’s prophecies fall just a few months after Haggai’s first prophecy; chapters 1-8 take place from 520 to 518 B.C. (Cf. 1:1,7; 7:1). The second half of the book (9-14), however, is not dated like the first part and is conjectured to have been added in the early part of the fifth century B.C. (480’s?). 

Personal Reflection

Linda Smith approached me with a smirk on her face, explaining how Dr. Lewis had anticipated the trouble some soul would have by preparing study notes for Zechariah. Then she asked me, “So do you want to do it?” 

Dr. Lewis was right. Zechariah is a tough book! It is full of all kinds of puzzling messianic and apocalyptic motifs. But in the end, Zechariah is a jewel of hope for God’s people five centuries before Christ and even today—Yahweh is and will be faithful to fulfill His promises to mankind and to make His presence known among them. 

Zechariah contains familiar prophetic content in its call for repentance and dependence on God (1:1-6). Additionally, Zechariah shares in Haggai’s campaign of encouragement for the completion of the temple building. Zechariah, however, is unique in his mission: it seems that he saw himself to be ushering in a new age and a new community of hope. God brought Israel out of exile, the temple was being rebuilt, and He would soon dwell among them again—all of the prophecies of the former prophets (e.g., Ezekiel and Jeremiah) were coming to fulfillment. We, too, share a similar context with Zechariah in that we live in a new age and community—the church—and we anticipate the final fulfillment of all things when Christ returns. We, like Zechariah, live in an age of hope. Three aspects of the prophet’s message of hope speak to us considerably:

1) The present restoration of Israel. God was fulfilling his promises to Israel in Zechariah’s time. The new age had arrived. Do not be overwhelmed by the night visions of chapters 1-6; Zechariah is simply expressing God’s work in the new age in a symbolic way—the temple is being rebuilt (1:16), the foreign nations are being cast from power (1:20), the Israelites are cleansed (3:1-7), godly leadership is restored (4:15), the land and nation is being purged from sin (5:1-11), and peace reigns (6:1-8). There was reason for hope! God was at work among them!

2) The messianic prophecies. Although a minor element throughout the body of prophetic literature, the messianic content in Zechariah cannot be ignored. Stemming from God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 (“…your throne will be established forever.”), Israel and her prophets expected the restoration of a Davidic king to the throne. In hope, they looked to the future appearing of the Messiah or “Branch” or “Shepherd” (Cf. 3:8; 6:12; 9:9-10; 13:7). Although Zerubbabel was of Davidic descent, he was not king, but governor; thus God’s promise for a Messiah still awaited fulfillment. He would subdue the nations under his rule and bring peace to the world. The Messiah’s coming would be the final affirmation that Israel was still God’s “treasured possession.” 

A word of caution: be careful not to read your Bible backwards in these passages. Keep in mind that Zechariah’s messianic prophecy was originally directed to his present historical context; only later did the gospel evangelists interpret Jesus to be the ultimate fulfillment of his words. Zechariah was not “predicting” the coming of Jesus in the same way we think of prediction. He was just reminding Israel to hope in the promises God made to David. It is unlikely that Zechariah understood with precision the historical life, death, and resurrection of the Messiah. But he did know that God was faithful, and this was a reason for hope.

3) The apocalyptic material. Much confusion exists, even among scholars, as to what qualifies literature for apocalyptic genre (from the Greek word for “revelation”, cf. Rev. 1:1). Generally, apocalyptic literature is set apart by its mysterious symbols and signs that signal the end of world history. Thought to be written in the midst of extreme persecution or hardship, its purpose is to encourage God’s people to persevere and know that hope is worth having; the battle is already won. Nothing will stop God from defeating the powers of evil and communing with his people for all eternity. 

Scholars typically consider Daniel and Revelation to contain large amounts of apocalyptic literature. Zechariah actually seems to have very little apocalyptic content, but it is a pivotal part of the prophet’s message of hope. The latter half of Zechariah (chs. 9-14), as mentioned above, was probably written several years after the temple was built. If so, disillusionment about the slow arrival of God’s promised Messiah may have set in; Israel may have lost hope because all of the exiles had yet to return from Babylon. This would explain the more dismal sections of chapter 9-14 as compared with 1-8 (e.g., the separation between Judah and Israel, 11:14; the suffering of the Shepherd, 13:7). God’s people needed to be encouraged. They needed to remember that one day in the future, the last day, God would come—with all His holy ones—quaking the Mount of Olives and driving out the evil nations. Then “…the Lord will be king over the whole earth” (14:3-5). Again, we see a message of hope in God’s plan for the end of time.

This same hope is relevant to us at Pleasant Valley. We live in uncertain times today. The President advises us to prepare for biological and chemical war by saving a few days’ supply of food and water. The nations are striving against each other. Nuclear warfare could destroy much of our civilization. We could be without a country tomorrow. Should we despair? No. We serve the God of Zechariah. We have hope for a future. God has restored his people Israel in the church; He has brought us the hoped-for Messiah in Jesus Christ; and He will break into our world on the last day, eradicate evil, and live forever with His people. 

Outline of the Book
I. Part One.

a. Oracle #1: Call to Repentance, Introduction. (1:1-6)
b. Oracle #2: Eight Night Visions (1:7-6:8)
i. Symbolic crowing of the high priest Joshua (6:9-15)
c. Oracle #3: Fasting and Future Blessings (7:1-8:23)

II. Part Two.
a. Oracle #1: Messianic Promise (9:1-11:17)
b. Oracle #2: Messianic Fulfillment and Apocalyptic Promise (12:1-14:21)

Personal Reflection Questions

I. If Zechariah was sent to me, what would he urge me to “rebuild” in my life?

II. What is hope? In what can one truly have hope? 

III. Where is hope missing in my life? 

IV. How might hope for the future transform the way I live in the present? 

Community Reflection Questions

I. How might you encourage someone in despair with Zechariah’s “apocalyptic message of hope”? 

II. How does a church respond to disaster and death with hope?

III. What would community or nation look/act like if it were full of hope? 

(Charles Kiser is the Associate of Involvement Ministry at Pleasant Valley Church and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Divinity degree from the Harding Graduate School of Religion in Memphis, TN.)