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Notes The Book of Zechariah
Zechariah 12:9-10 - And it shall come to pass in that day,
[that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against
Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have
pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his]
only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is
in bitterness for [his] firstborn.
Zechariah 13:6-7 - And [one] shall say unto him, What [are]
these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, [Those] with
which I was wounded [in] the house of my friends. Awake, O
sword, against my shepherd, and against the man [that is] my
fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the
sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the
little ones.
The Old Testament - A Brief Overview
Bible Survey - Zechariah
Hebrew Name -
Zekar-yah
"Yahweh is Remembered"
Greek Name - Zacharias (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Zechariah (According to Tradition)
Date - 520 BC Approximately
Theme - The First and Secong Coming of Messiah
Types and Shadows - In Zechariah Jesus is the Humble King
Summary of The Book of Zechariah
Zechariah, like Haggai
and Malachi, was a prophet of the Persian period. He prophesied
to the Jews who had returned from exile around 520 BC when the
Persian Empire was ruling the world. Each of these prophets
encouraged the Jews to continue the work of God and rebuild the
Temple of Jerusalem. The prophet Zechariah begins his message
reminding the Jews that the captivity had been a result of their
own disobedience, and God rebuked their fathers as well.
Zechariah received a series of visions in which God revealed his
plan for the history and future of the world, showing that he is
ultimately in control and he will fulfill the promises that were
made to their fathers and to Abraham. The city of Jerusalem is
seen as a city so wonderful and prosperous that it needed to be
enlarged in order to contain all the people (Zechariah 2). In
the vision of Joshua the high priest Zechariah saw him in filthy
rags, which was no doubt the nation of Israel repenting and
receiving their Messiah and being cleansed of their sins
(Zechariah 3). Other visions reveal the coming judgment of God,
and his victory over sin, and everything is about the Messiah
and his coming. Zechariah prophesied about the nations that
oppressed Israel, there be a time of destruction and later they
would come to worship the Lord in Jerusalem. The prophet
Zechariah spoke more about the Messiah than any of the prophets,
except the prophet Isaiah. There is one fabulous prophecies of
Zechariah reveals about the Messiah's death:
- The above text is © Rusty
Russell - Bible History Online and must be sourced for use on a
website.
"And I will pour on the house of David and on the
inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication;
then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will
mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him
as one grieves for a firstborn." Zechariah 12:10
Zechariah was the son of
Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo (Zechariah 1:1, 7). He was born in
Babylon and had returned to Jerusalem in the group led by Zerubbabel sixteen
years previous to the time of his ministry (Nehemiah 12:4, 16). He was a
contemporary of Haggai and began to prophesy two months after Haggai in 520 BC. The work of rebuilding the temple was already in progress.
Zechariah preached at least two years longer than Haggai (Zechariah 7:1) and
possibly even longer.
The situation was the same as described in the introduction to Haggai.
The purpose of Zechariah's preaching was to strengthen the people in the reality
of their calling, their history, and their future, as well as that of the
nations. Zechariah also joined Haggai in the task of
encouraging the construction of the temple and to see it through to its
completion. Zechariah
reproved the people, he gave them encouragement and exhortation,
as well as the promises of God's blessing and spoke much about the Messiah and
what would happen to the Jews and the nations when He comes.
The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows :
Outline of the Book of Zechariah
The book is divided into two parts: Zechariah 1-8, concerned mainly with the
rebuilding of the temple, and Zechariah 9-14, dealing with future events, notably the
coming of Messiah and the glory of His reign.
Zechariah begins his book (Zechariah 1) with a reminder that the captivity had been a
result of disobedience. He continues by relating a series of visions designed to
show that God is in control of history and will bring a glorious blessing to the
faithful remnant of His people. Jerusalem is pictured as so prosperous it is
having to be enlarged to hold the people (Zechariah 2). The vision of Joshua the high
priest, clothed in filthy rags (Zechariah 3) seems to be a definite prevision of the
atonement of Christ. Other visions in the book point to the certainty of God's
judgment and ultimate victory over sin, culminating in the coming of the
Messiah.
Zechariah Resources
The Divided Kingdom
The
Northern Kingdom of Israel
The
Southern Kingdom of Judah
The Assyrian Captivity
The Babylonian Captivity
The Return From Babylon
The Prophets
The Messiah
The Book of Zechariah
More About the Book of
Zechariah
Zechariah in the Picture
Study Bible
Chart
of the Prophets of Israel and Judah
Timeline of the Ancient
World
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