READ IT! - Introduction to Zechariah 7-14

Readings for this week

Monday: Zechariah 7
Tuesday: Zechariah 8
Wednesday: Zechariah 9
Thursday: Zechariah 10
Friday: Zechariah 11
Saturday: Zechariah 12
Sunday: Zechariah 13

Introduction to Zechariah 7-14

Chapter 7 

In the next section we get to hear about the coming joy of the Messianic Age. A delegation from Bethel arrives with a question:

Should we keep fasting on special days to remember Jerusalem’s destruction?

God’s answer:

Remember the past to avoid following the ways of your ancestors who were exiled. Fasting lets you humble yourself before God and seek righteousness. But fasting to feel sorry for yourself is a waste of time. 

Chapter 8 

God promises to bless Jerusalem. God will gather His people and reestablish His name in Jerusalem. He will restore His relationship with His children and bring lasting peace and blessing. Israel can become a light to other nations and other peoples will see God’s blessing and seek it for themselves. 

Chapter 9 

We then hear about the triumph of the Messianic Age, starting with the coming judgment on Israel’s Enemies. God will remove Israel’s neighboring enemies and form a remnant from among them. Zechariah then writes about the coming of Zion’s King, saying: 

“Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

Zechariah then writes about how the Lord will one day appear, saying:

“Then the Lord will appear over them;
his arrow will flash like lightning.
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;
he will march in the storms of the south,
and the Lord Almighty will shield them.” 

Chapters 10-11 

Zechariah then makes an analogy about Judah’s leaders and shepherds. Part of God’s restoration of his people included removing their bad leaders. Zechariah describes the leaders as three worthless shepherds who cared little for their sheep. At God’s command, Zechariah assumes leadership, but the people reject his good leadership. The prophet warns the people another evil leader would come before God’s ultimate leader. Scholars have tried to identify the three shepherds Zechariah mentions, as well as the future evil shepherd. Some suggest the shepherds were priests of Zechariah’s day. Some say they were political leaders. Some say they represent prophets, priests, and rulers.

Zechariah writes:

“Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.”

“I told them, ‘If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.’ So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.”

“And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.”

“Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the family bond between Judah and Israel.” 

Chapter 12 

Zechariah again writes about how Jerusalem’s enemies will be destroyed. God will bring victory in His coming Kingdom. Jerusalem will be God’s instrument, but the triumph will be His. He will destroy all the nations that gather against His people. And he says that the nation will embrace their God, and as God pours out His Spirit, His people “will look upon one whom they have pierced and mourn for him as one would mourn for the death of an only son.” John the apostle connected this prophecy with Jesus’ crucifixion. 

Chapter 13 

Zechariah writes, “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” But he says that God’s shepherd will be struck down, saying, “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Through this process, God would prepare a special remnant for His purposes. At his last meal with his disciples, Jesus warned them about his coming arrest, and told them they would fulfill this prophetic word… and they did. 

Chapter 14 

Zechariah foretold a day when all nations will gather themselves against Jerusalem. At the last minute, God will intervene, deliver His people, and establish His everlasting Kingdom through his Messiah. When Zechariah wrote about the Messiah’s coming, he did not distinguish sharply between his first and second comings. For him, as with many other prophets, the Messiah’s coming Kingdom was one glorious future. 

He writes:

“Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.”

“On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.”

“On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.”

“This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.”

“Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.”

“On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar.”