Zechariah 1 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Zechariah 1

A Call to Return to the Lord

1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, 2 “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. 4 Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the LORD. 5 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”

A Vision of a Horseman

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, 8 “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. 9 Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ 10 So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.’ 11 And they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’ 12 Then the angel of the LORD said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’ 13 And the LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. 14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. 16 Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Cry out again, Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”

A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen

18 ¹ And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! 19 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. 21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

Footnotes

[1] 1:18 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew

Commentary

v1: Zechariah is a contemporary of Haggai and Ezra. Jerusalem is still in ruins, although the temple is being rebuilt. Many Jews are still scattered, in Babylon and elsewhere.

v2-6: Haggai's message continues, as the prophet calls the people to turn back to God. The prophecies of judgment upon Judah and Israel have manifestly been fulfilled.

v2: The Lord was angry with the earlier generations; this cannot be denied, as the prophet speaks to those who had returned from exile.

v3-4: The clear message from the Lord, "return to me." The geographical return to Jerusalem is useless unless the people turn back to the Lord. The people ignored the messages from earlier prophets.

v5-6: The warnings delivered by the earlier prophets have come true; the Lord dealt with His people as He had promised. The people openly admit that the Lord has done what He promised.

Zechariah takes a longer term view, in looking back, and in looking forward; in contrast Haggai challenges current attitudes and practices. Zechariah takes us further forward in God's great plans, and incorporates a different, apocalyptic, style.

v7-11: The vision of the men and horses. The meaning of the vision is of peace throughout the world; the prophecies about punishment have been fulfilled, and God's anger has ended.

v12: These 70 years; desolation for Jerusalem. Daniel prayed regarding the 70 years in the first year of Darius, Dan 9.1-2, and presumably realised that the 70 years had almost expired.

It is no coincidence that there are godly men both in Jerusalem and Babylon at the same time, praying and working.

v13: The Lord has been angry, but now is the time for kind and comforting words. This is the beginning of the answer to the question, "How long will you withhold mercy?"

v14: The Lord is jealous for His own people; and that will become more evident.

v15: The nations at ease; these had brought God's judgment upon Israel and Judah. But they acted with evil intent, and were ignorant of God's directing; they practised cruelty upon the people (Hab 1.6,11), failing to realise that they were actually bringing the fulfilment of God's promises.

v16: Jerusalem is specifically mentioned; once more to be a place of great blessing, as the temple is being rebuilt.

v17: Prosperity and comfort, for the Lord will again choose Jerusalem; see also 2.4-5, 10-12.

v18-19: The four horns that scattered Israel and Judah; these may be foreign kings;

Tiglath-Pileser, 2 Kings 15.29;
Shalmaneser, 2 Kings 17.3-6;
Sennacherib, 2 Kings 18.13;
Nebuchadnezzar, 2 Kings 24.

They are men of power and pride, rather than distinct nations.

v20-21: The craftsmen are brought to terrify the horns of the nations, representing their strength. In each case, the horn has only limited dominion, for God is in overall control.