Bible Commentaries
Zechariah 1

Verses 1-10

XXVII

THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH PART I

Zechariah 1-3

We take up now the book of Zechariah. The date is 520 B.C., the same year in which Haggai uttered his prophecies to the leaders and people of Judah and Jerusalem urging them to go on with the work of rebuilding the Temple. Zechanah was a contemporary of Haggai, the two preaching at the same time, with a similar message, and with the same purpose. They make no reference to each other, but it is the usual thing for prophets to apparently ignore the existence of any other prophet. That is only apparent, however, for the prophecies that we have recorded are supposed to record the messages of God, and not to be taken up with references to any personal matters.

It was in the reign of Darius which began 521 B.C. Zechariah tells us in the first verse of his prophecy that it was in the eighth month of the second year of Darius. He says that he was the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, and styles himself "the prophet" as if he were well known as such. He was the grandson of Iddo. In Nehemiah 12:16, Zechariah is referred to as the son of Iddo, who was one of the heads of the priestly families that returned from Babylon with the first great company. So Zechariah was the grandson of a priest and was, no doubt, a priest himself. In the records of Ezra and Nehemiah, no mention is made of Berechiah. Probably he was an insignificant man, or perhaps died early, and thus no mention is made of him in those larger genealogies. Zechariah himself remembered his father, and also his grandfather and thus connected himself with one of the priestly families of Israel.

Now, let us consider the problem of the authorship of Zechariah. The first eight chapters of Zechariah are a unit. No one has ever denied that unity. The last six chapters of the book of Zechariah are very different. In these there is no allusion to the Temple, no reference to their feasts, to their ritual, to their sacrifices, or ceremonials; no references to the governor, or to the Persian Empire. The political situation seems to be entirely changed. Other nations are mentioned which had not been mentioned by Zechariah, which had not been mentioned in fact, since the eighth century prophets prophesied against them. These nations are Damascus, Hadrach, a large city tributary to Damascus; Hamath, another important city in that region; Assyria, which had long since been dead as a nation; Egypt, still in existence and somewhat prominent; Greece, which had been mentioned only once and that in Joel, and which now comes to the front as the great conquering nation of the world. There is no peace in these chapters as in the first eight, but war, turmoil, strife, revolution, bloodshed, invasion, conquest, and struggle. Interspersed with that, there are beautiful portions on the messianic peace, the messianic glory that is to come, and there is also the picture of a fearful judgment upon Jerusalem, when that city shall be assaulted by the nations and shall be saved by Jehovah. All this is entirely different from the first part of Zechariah, and so different that there has been a great deal of controversy as to the authorship.

I give now a brief history of the various theories in regard to the authorship of these last six chapters.

In 1632, nearly three hundred years ago, an English Bishop noticed in Zechariah 11:13, this statement: "And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter in the house of the Lord." Then he noticed in Matthew 27:9 these words ascribed to Jeremiah: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken of by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was priced, whom certain of the children of Israel did price; and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me." On the supposition that this was a quotation from the book of Jeremiah several English scholars at the date ascribed these last six chapters to Jeremiah, the prophet. That theory held sway for some time, and we readily see that it would revolutionize many of our ideas and conceptions regarding the book of Zechariah if it were put back into the time of Jeremiah, and it would create a thousand problems that would be difficult to solve.

Then again, some put it earlier than Jeremiah, before 720 B.C., while northern Israel was still in existence and Assyria was on the horizon and Egypt yet powerful and Damascus a strong state. Up to the year 1784 Jeremiah was regarded as the probable author by a great many. Then it was noted there was a man named Zechariah who lived in the time of Isaiah, and many scholars following that date, ascribed it to this Zechariah, a contemporary of Isaiah. Up to about twenty-five years ago almost all scholars ascribed it to a pre-exilic date, appearing at any period from the time of Isaiah to the time of Jeremiah.

Since about 1880 radical critics have been at work, and it has been ascribed almost unanimously by them to a postexilic date. Scholars have seen that the reference to Damascus and Hadrach and Hamath and their destruction might be ascribed to the conquest of Alexander the Great. For those nations, once powerful, had become weak, but revived again, and it is a historical fact that Alexander the Great really did sweep through that part of western Asia and destroy those cities and people. It was seen that Assyria and Egypt as referred to here, were general terms for the enemies of Israel north and south of Palestine. Assyria being her northern enemy, and Egypt her southern enemy. Judah and Ephraim which are referred to in this prophecy were used to represent all Israel, the two tribes and the ten tribes as grouped. They contend that the language is very late, but an argument from language is rather precarious, as we cannot be sure that words used in the sixth century B.C. were not used in the seventh and eighth centuries B.C.

Many scholars put it about 516 B.C., at the time of the dedication of the second temple. Pusey, one of the greatest English scholars and writers on the minor prophets, says that it was written about 516 B.C. or shortly afterward and that it gives us a vision of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the wars and turmoils under his generals and the Ptolemies of Egypt, the Maccabees, the Roman Empire, down to the time of the crucifixion of Christ, and reaching on into the future to the conversion of the Jews. Radical critics, however, make it much later. They say it was written sometime during the period of Alexander the Great; that some of it was written probably in the Maccabean age, and many of them say that these six chapters have two different authors, living at different times. Cheyne, one of the great English critics, refers it to the Maccabean period. George Adam Smith puts it later than the time of Zechariah and the other prophets, but does not ascribe any date.

A great many conservative and very able scholars have held and do still hold that it was written by Zechariah himself after 516 B.C., when the Temple was dedicated. It is a picture of the Greeks upon the horizon of history, and that history arises because of their advance upon and their relation to Judah and Israel. There are foresight and prediction, and the reason why the radical critics put it in the Maccabean or Alexandrian period is because of their theory which practically denies prediction. Granting inspiration which gives predictive power, there is no reason in the world why Zechariah should not have written it subsequent to the dedication of the Temple.

This book is one of the longest of the minor prophets and may be divided into two parts, Zechariah 1-8 having a distinct reference to the work of the rebuilding of the Temple and the establishment of the ritual and the ceremonial. The message is one of encouragement to the people to proceed with the building of their Temple. Zechariah 9-14 are very different. The political situation seems to be different, the historical circumstances seem to be changed, the horizon seems to have been largely modified, the occasion seems to be entirely dissimilar, the style and language are different, and so marked is the variation that this part of the book needs careful consideration. This latter part, Zechariah 9-14, may be subdivided into Zechariah 9-11 and Zechariah 12-14.

The following is a carefully wrought and exegetical analysis of the book:

PART I – Zechariah 1-8

Introduction Zechariah 1:1-6

I. The Visions (Zechariah 1:7-6:8)

1. The horses under the myrtle trees (Zechariah 1:7-17)

2. The four horns and four artificers (Zechariah 1:18-21)

3. The man with the measuring line (Zechariah 2:1-13)

4. Joshua and Satan (Zechariah 3:1-10)

5. The candlestick and the olive trees (Zechariah 4:1-14)

6. The flying book (Zechariah 5:1-4)

7. The woman and the epha (Zechariah 5:5-11)

8. The four chariots (Zechariah 6:1-8)

II. The Memorial Crowns (Zechariah 6:9-15)

III. The True Fast (7-8)

PART II – CHAPTERS 9-14

I. The First Burden of Prophecy (9-11)

1. The coming king (Zechariah 9)

2. The great regathering (Zechariah 10:1-11:3)

3. The good shepherd rejected (Zechariah 11:4-14)

4. The foolish shepherd (Zechariah 11:15-17)

II. The Second Burden of Prophecy (12-14)

1. Jehovah’s protection of his people (Zechariah 12:1-9)

2. Repentance and conversion of many Jews (Zechariah 12:10-13:6)

3. Scattering the sheep by smiting the shepherd (Zechariah 13:7-8)

4. Purification of the remnant (Zechariah 13:9)

5. Gathering of nations against Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:1-2)

6. Conversion of the Jews as a nation (Zechariah 14:3-15)

7. The Millennium (Zechariah 14:16-21)

The occasion for the utterance of Zechariah 1-8, as we have already seen, was the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem, and the apparent occasion for the utterance of Zechariah 9-14 was the future history and vicissitudes of the nation.

Taking up the prophecy more in detail, we have, first, the introductory oracle, Zechariah 1:1-6, which contains the title of the book, the name of the author and his admonition against the evil example of their fathers. It contains also the date of the prophecy which occurs between the last two prophecies of Haggai. Zechariah’s first prophecy was in the eighth month of the second year of Darius.

Zechariah reviews their past history and uses that as a warning and as a means of admonition. He says, in Zechariah 1:2: "Jehovah was sore displeased with your fathers." Those who had just returned from the exile knew well the meaning of this statement, for many of them had suffered the terrors of that yoke of bondage, a greater part of their own lives. Zechariah’s message was, "Therefore say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Return unto me, saith Jehovah of hosts, and I will return unto you." A further admonition in the fourth verse, "Be ye not as your fathers." Take warning by their history. "Unto whom the former prophets," the earlier prophets whose names were familiar to them and whose writings probably were in their hands, "cried, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Return ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings." "But," says Zechariah, "they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith Jehovah." He now raises a very serious question: "Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?" Zechariah reminds them that their fathers are gone, and the prophets are gone.

There are two ways of looking back into the past. There is that which looks back and longs for the same conditions, and thinks if only they could live in "the good old times," all would be well. There is such a thing as an excessive reverence for the past. Now Zechariah says, "Your fathers, where are they?" He says, "But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?" Yes, and in spite of all the prophets said, and all they did, and all that God warned, "they turned and said, Like as Jehovah of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us." Now, do better than your fathers.

Now, we come to the visions which Zechariah saw for the encouragement of the people. The first vision of encouragement is the angel horsemen (Zechariah 7-17). Angels play a very important part in Zechariah’s visions. In almost every one of his visions angels are the speakers, the actors and the interpreters. They are the messengers from Jehovah. In the book of Daniel angels play a very important part also. That occurred some time previous to these prophecies of Zechariah. All down through the centuries they had been familiar with the idea of angels. Every kingdom had its angel and every individual had hig guardian angel. The Apocalyptic literature that followed the close of the canon is filled with a great many teachings and speculations, wise and otherwise, regarding angels. Zechariah’s messages in visions all came by means of angels. The New Testament is full of the teaching of angels and their mission as ministers of the heirs of salvation.

The date of the prophecy is the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, Shebat, corresponding very nearly to our February, in the same year, 520 B.C., the second year of the reign of Darius. It came in a vision: "I saw in the night, and, behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle-trees." There are many myrtle trees in Palestine, and many groves around Jerusalem. These myrtle trees are in "the bottom," that is, a shady place in some quiet valley. The angel riders symbolized God’s messengers looking after conditions in the whole earth; the myrtle grove symbolized the shadowy condition of Israel, but there was encouragement in view of national life promised here; the nations were all quiet. This is a vision in the night, and behind the man on the red horse, were other horses, red, sorrel, and white. This is the analogue of those visions which John saw (see Revelation of the "Interpretation") . John saw a white horse, and a black horse, and a red horse and a pale horse, though the black horse is not mentioned here. The other three mentioned by John are very much like the three here described.

Naturally the prophet raises the question, "O, my Lord, what are these?" The first angel says, "I will show thee what these are." And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, "These are they whom Jehovah hath sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth." In other words, these are Jehovah’s scouts who go to and fro throughout the world, to ascertain the condition of things and report. Now, what is the report of these scouts of the Almighty? "They answered the angel of Jehovah that stood among the myrtle-trees, and said, We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." Now, what does this mean but that they have searched throughout the world to discover the political conditions, in order that they may ascertain whether the situation is conducive to Israel’s going on with the work of building the Temple. Is there danger of immediate invasions, or of political upheavals? But they have found all is at rest and quiet.

How could this possibly be, because the first few years of the reign of Darius were occupied in quelling insurrections in almost every part of his empire, and how could the affairs become settled and at peace during that period? There are two possible explanations. One is, though there may have been insurrections and revolts throughout the empire, there was no danger of their affecting Judah and Jerusalem. Or it may be that Darius had just succeeded in bringing some of the insurrections and revolts to an end, therefore there was rest and peace on the political horizon.

In Zechariah 1:12-17 we have a dialogue between the prophet and the angel, and this angel of Jehovah gives Zechariah a very encouraging and comforting message to the people. The political situation was all quiet. Now there comes the question: "How long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these three score and ten years? And Jehovah answered the angel that talked with me with good words, even comfortable words." Then the angel that was answering, said to Zechariah, "Cry thou, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased and they helped forward the affliction. . . . I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; my house shall be built in it." That is the message they wanted to hear. "Cry ye again, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, My cities shall yet be spread abroad." Jerusalem is going to grow, the land is going to be rich and prosperous, the Lord shall comfort Zion, and shall yet save Jerusalem. This is the first message, and it is a message of great encouragement, dealing with the political condition which, of course, must be quiet and favorable or no work could be done on the Temple.

The second vision is a vision of the destruction of Israel’s adversaries (Zechariah 1:18-21). On the same night, apparently, he sees in a vision, four horns. Here they evidently represented powers; four, representing powers on all sides, power complete, one at each point of the compass. “And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." These are the nations, not four necessarily, as some think, but the nations that have been sufficient to scatter Jerusalem from all sides. "And the Lord showed me four smiths, then said, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head; but these are come to cast them down." That vision gave hope, the four horns representing all the power of these oppressive nations, sawed off by these smiths, thus destroyed and crushed.

The third is a vision of the measuring line (Zechariah 2:1-5). This refers to the geographical limits of Jerusalem, as the other two referred to the political conditions: "I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand." The angel now does not anticipate the question of the prophet, but he speaks himself, "Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls." Put down your measuring line: Jerusalem is going to spread out, and multitudes of men will be gathered into it. "I will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of her." The prophets before the exile had prophesied that Jerusalem should be built again, should occupy the same place, but the prophecy of Zechariah is a broader vision, the greater Jerusalem that was to be, could not be walled in. This, of course, does not have a literal fulfilment. It finds fulfilment in all the history of Christianity and means that Christianity will not be limited by measurement.

In Zechariah 2:6-12 inclusive, we have a lyric poem appealing to the people to return from their exile in Babylon and come back to Judah, and Jerusalem. "Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughters of Babylon. For thus saith the Lord of hosts: After glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye," showing his regard for his people. He was going to bring a calamity upon these nations that had been spoiling them: "For, behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall be a spoil to those that served them; and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me." Then he calls on them to sing and rejoice: “O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and will dwell in the midst of thee."

We have here something like the second part of Isaiah, and the phraseology is very much like that great prophecy: "Many nations shall join themselves to Jehovah in that day, and shall be my people," which has fulfilment in the final conquests of Christianity through the Jews. Just as the great prophets have prophesied, so does Zechariah. "I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And Jehovah shall inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. Be silent, all flesh, before Jehovah; for he is waked up out of his holy habitation." He woke up when Babylon was destroyed, when he sent back some fifty thousand of his people; he is awake now, and he calls on Zechariah to give the message to the people to arouse them to rebuilding the Temple. This call of Jehovah reminds us of God’s call to his people to come out of the apostate church in Revelation.

The fourth is a vision of the high priest and Satan, Zechariah 3. Visions one and two dealt with the political situation, vision three dealt with the geographical situation, and the fourth vision deals with the moral and religious situation. The Lord showed Zechariah, Joshua, the high priest, who returned with Zerubbabel as one of the leaders, standing before the angel of Jehovah. The angel of Jehovah is God’s representative of himself in the person and presence of his angelic being. Satan is standing at Joshua’s right hand to be his adversary, a supernatural being whose business it was to accuse the people of God. Thus we have Jehovah, Joshua, and Satan, a trio: Jehovah on behalf of his people, Joshua the representative of his people from a religious standpoint, representing them in their moral and religious relationship, and Satan, the accuser, the adversary, the angelic being whose business it was to accuse God’s people whenever he had an opportunity.

The accuser had sought to prove that Israel was forsaken, and had incurred the displeasure of Almighty God. Now the Lord speaks: "Jehovah rebuke thee) O Satan, yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" My people were in Babylon under oppression, but by my providences I brought them forth out of that oppression, and is not that sufficient proof that I am with them and that they are my people? I plucked them as a brand from the burning. Satan disappears and we hear nothing more about him in the vision. But how about Joshua, the priest? He is clothed in filthy garments, representing the religious condition of those people with their Temple unbuilt and ceremonial unkept. The angel of the vision answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, "Take the filthy garments from off him," and when they had done that he said, "I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel. And I said, Let them set a clean mitre upon his head." What did it mean? It meant that Jehovah was going to be so gracious to Israel that she was going to have her Temple again and enjoy the blessings of Jehovah.

We conclude the study of the fourth vision, describing the purified religious conditions (Zechariah 3:6-10). We have seen the importance and place of Joshua in the new era that was about to dawn; how that Joshua, as the representative of the people was cleansed and made ready for the divine service and worship. In keeping with that new era upon which Joshua and the people entered, we have the word of Jehovah unto Joshua giving him an earnest warning: "Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou also shalt judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee a place of access among these that stand by." This is what had been enjoined upon the priestly families long before this, even from the days of Moses. They were to be the teachers and judges and administrators of the law, and if they kept that law and walked in his ways, they maintained their high and honorable position in the nation. They had forfeited that to a large extent, for, as we see, in the prophets previous to the exile, they had almost failed.

It says further, "I will give thee a place of access among these that stand by." This passage presents some difficulties. Who are "these"? Does it refer to the people, his brother priests, the leaders and representatives of the nation? That is one interpretation, but another one is, he shall have a place of access, or a place in which to walk among God’s representatives, such as have been appearing in the prophet hitherto. This seems to be more in keeping with the dignity of the office here ascribed to Joshua.

Zechariah goes on with his admonition: "Hear now, O Joshua, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee," i.e. his brother priests, subordinate, but officiating with him in the services and the sacrifices being offered. What about these men with thee? These men that sit before thee, they are men "which are a sign," a wonder. This refers to the typical significance of their office. "For, behold," he goes on, "I will bring forth my servant the Branch." This refers to the descendant of David, the royal family, and the dynasty that was to sit upon the throne of Israel forever, now represented by Zerubbabel, forecasting the Messiah, or Jesus ’Christ. "For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; upon one stone are seven eyes; behold, I will engrave the graving thereof." What is the stone?

There have been a great many beautiful interpretations. Some say that it was the headstone which completed the Temple building, and upon that stone were engraved seven eyes, as well as other engraving, beautifying and adorning it. Others say it was the stone upon the breastplate of the high priest and upon that stone were engraved the seven eyes. Others have said that the stone which is set before Joshua represents the Temple completed, and upon that Temple Jehovah was to set his seven eyes, not to engrave the picture of the eyes on the stone of the Temple, but Jehovah, with his perfect vision, seven eyes, representing the perfection of sight and knowledge, should set that perfect sight upon the Temple to watch over it, that is, God should set upon it the perfection of his knowledge and his care, and thus it would be protected.

But the stone here referred to is the hierarchy, or theocracy, and is parallel to Daniel’s "little stone," and the seven eyes represent God’s perfect, watchful care for spiritual Israel. As a result of it, he says, "I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." This is a very gracious promise, referring to the Atonement Day as typical of the sacrifice of Christ by which sins were expiated.

Zechariah 3:10 gives a picture of the blessings and prosperity the people shall enjoy in the period which is to follow, including the messianic age. "In that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, shall ye invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree." There is promised peace and prosperity in the world, especially when the messianic age terminates in the millennium as here foreshadowed.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the date and occasion of the prophecy of Zechariah?

2. Who was contemporary, how do you account for the fact that they make no reference to each other & who was Zechariah?

3. What objections have been urged against the unity of the book and what was the reply?

4. What was the general character of the book?

5. What was the occasion of each of the two great sections of the book, respectively, what was Zechariah’s first prophecy, and what was its relation to the whole book?

6. Give an exegetical analysis of Zechariah.

7. What was the date of this prophecy and how does it correlate with Haggai’s prophecy?

8. What history does he recite in the prophecy and what are the lessons which he draws from it?

9. What was the date of the first vision, what was the vision itself, what means of communication here and what can you say of the teaching in both the Old Testament and the New Testament respecting angels?

10. What was the purpose of this vision, what was the meaning of its symbolism and what was the bearing on the work of building the Temple?

11. This is the analogue of what New Testament vision and what parallels in the two visions?

12. What was the dialogue between the angel and the prophet and what revelations here made to the prophet?

13. What was the second vision, what was the meaning of the symbolism and what encouragement to Jerusalem?

14. What was the third vision, what was its purpose, who was the young man and what prophecy contained in this vision?

15. What was the character of the passage, Zechariah 2:6-13, what appeal here and what similar one in Revelation?

16. What expression here indicates Jehovah’s regard for his people, what prophecy of this section, and what was its encouragement to the people of Jerusalem at this time?

17. What was the fourth vision, who were the representative characters, what does each represent, what symbolic action here described and what interpretation of it?

18. What charge did the angel here give Joshua, what promise did he give him, and who were the "fellows that sit before thee," how are they "a sign"?

19. What messianic prophecy here, what the stone mentioned, what was the meaning of seven eyes, what was the meaning of removing "the iniquity of the land in one day" and to what period of ’time does Zechariah 2:10 refer?