Overview of Zechariah

Like Haggai, Zechariah is another prophet speaking at the same time as Ezra and Nehemiah returned with the people from exile (Ezra 5:1). His book is dense with visions and imagery.

Zechariah was very familiar with many of the prophets that had gone before, specifically Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Because of this, it seems like he is summarising many of the ideas that have come before, for a new generation. Ideas like a future holy city, a king from the line of David, God putting his spirit on his people, and many more.

Zechariah 1:1-6 - Introduction

Zechariah 1:7-6:15 - Zechariah’s visions and dreams

• Zechariah 1:8-17 - Four horsemen on patrol
• Zechariah 1:18-21 - Four horns and four blacksmiths
• Zechariah 2:1-13 - Jerusalem is measured
• Zechariah 3:1-10 - Joshua, the high priest
• Zechariah 4:1-14 - Zerubbabel, the royal heir of David
• Zechariah 5:1-4 - The flying scroll
• Zechariah 5:5-11 - Woman in a basket
• Zechariah 6:1-8 - Four horsemen on patrol
• Zechariah 6:8-15 - Future priest king

Zechariah 7-8 - Conclusion on the dreams

Zechariah 9-11 - The coming king becomes a rejected shepherd

Zechariah 12-14 - God’s justice confronts the evil among the nations and within the hearts of his people

Like Haggai, Zechariah is trying to apply to ideas of the prophets to a people who were expecting God’s promises to come now. He seeks to encourage the people and bring them hope, while reminding them that this hope is conditional on their repentance and turning back to God.

Zechariah 1-4

Zechariah wastes no time with his book. He opens straight into a call to repentance, challenging the Jews to not be like their ancestors who had turned a blind ear to God and his prophets. God punished their ancestors for their disobedience, so let not the same happen to the Jews now. Hearing this, the people repented.

Then Zechariah has his first vision. Zechariah sees a man on a red horse who, we soon find out, is the angel of the Lord. Along with him are other horses, presumably also with riders. They are patrolling the earth and declare that there is peace on earth.

The angel of the Lord turns to God and asks, if there is peace, why then has God not had mercy on his people and returned to Jerusalem? God reassures his angel that he is deeply passionate about his city, Jerusalem. He will return, his house shall be rebuilt, and the city will be restored. Zechariah is looking forward to a time where there will be peace on earth and God restores his holy city.

In Zechariah's second vision, he sees four horns and four blacksmiths. The angel explains to Zechariah that the horns represent the nation (Babylon) that scattered Israel and its people, and the blacksmiths represent the nation (Persia) that brought judgement on the first nation. There will be times where God's people are persecuted, but God will bring judgement on these nations.

In his third vision, Zechariah sees a man holding a measuring line in his hand, and the man explained it is to measure Jerusalem. Jerusalem is going to be so prosperous and filled with people that there will be no walls to fit them all in. Instead, God will be the wall that keeps his people safe. He will punish those that seek to harm his people, and all the earth will come to join Jerusalem and be included as part of God's people.

In Zechariah's fourth vision, he sees Joshua the high priest, one of the current leaders in Jerusalem, standing in God's courtroom. Satan is there trying to accuse Joshua, but God rebukes him. Joshua is wearing filthy clothes, representing the people and their sin.

But God has his angels take the dirty robes off him, replacing them with clean clothes. God declares that, in the same way, he is taking off the people's sin and iniquity to clothe them with purity. He then charges Joshua that if he chooses to live rightly, God will cause Joshua to rule over his house and have access to him.

God then goes on to mention his branch. We've seen this imagery of a branch before in some of the other prophets. It was often used in the context of 'a branch of David' to refer to the future king who would lead the people in righteousness. Here we getting the priest and the king associated together, in a new role as priest king. Just as Joshua represents the people in this image, he also represents a future leader that will serve as both priest and king.

Then comes Zechariah's fifth vision. At this point, the dreams seem to work their way back, mirroring the visions Zechariah has already had. So just as his fourth vision looked at Joshua as the high priest, Zechariah's fifth vision includes Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah.

Zechariah sees a lampstand with seven lamps on it, and a tree either side of it. An angel tells Zechariah that the message he is to pass on to Zerubbabel is this, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6). Everything Zerubbabel does, he should do it by God's spirit.

The angel then explains that the lampstand is God, and the seven lamps are his eyes. Seven was the number of fullness and represents God's ability to see all the earth. The two trees represent Joshua and Zerubbabel, the anointed ones. One a priest, and the other a king (in this case governor) from the line of David, that stand in God’s presence and lead his people.

Psalm 58

This psalm is attributed to King David and falls into the category of wisdom psalm. It brings the contrast between the righteous and the wicked.

A) Psalm 58:1 - Leaders/gods do not judge righteous

B) Psalm 58:2 - The wicked have violent hands

C) Psalm 58:3-5 - The wicked are like snakes

D) Psalm 58:6 - Break their teeth O God

C) Psalm 58:7-9 - Let the wicked be like snails

B) Psalm 58:10 - The righteous have feet cleansed by blood

A) Psalm 58:11 - God will judge

The opening verse contains a word that is incredibly hard to translate, ‘elem’. The main reason being we’re not entirely sure what it means.

If you look across translations, you’ll see a wide range of interpretations. Some say ‘you gods’. This is because these translators believe ‘elem’ to be from the Hebrew word ‘elohim’ meaning gods.

If this is the case, then the psalmist is talking to the national guardian angels we’ve looked at in Genesis 11 and Deuteronomy 4. They have been put in place to guard the nations and instead have let wickedness run rampant.

Other translations have ‘you rulers’. These translators believe that ‘elem’ comes from the verb ‘’ol’ which means to be strong.

Others still have ‘you silent ones’. For these translators, ‘elem’ comes from ‘ilem’ to be mute.

In both these cases, the psalmist would be talking to human leaders who have been silent and allowed injustice to run rampant.

Either way, the core beats of the psalm are the same. The psalmist is calling out the leaders (either human or divine) for not leading and judging well.

Instead, their hearts are wicked and have promoted violence. Under their leadership, the wicked have spread. They lie, they poison, and they charm to get their way.

The psalmist specifically talks about them having the venom of a serpent, but at the mention of lie and charm, we’re to thinking of the serpent of Genesis 3 and how his wickedness led to death and destruction.

The psalmist then calls to God to break the power of the wicked. Their teeth. It is with their mouths they spread lies, with their mouths they bite and harm, and with their mouths they consume others.

The psalmist continues, asking that God continue to waste them away. Make the wicked blunt, unable to do harm. Dissolve them like a snail.

Make them as impotent and harmless as a stillborn. Sweep them away and be rid of them.

At this, the righteous will once again be strengthened and liberated. The contamination of the wicked will be washed off them.

And finally, God will fill the gap. Where previously leaders (human or divine) allowed injustice to run rampant, God will step in and lead the people in justice.

In this, we see the importance of justice to God. That injustice and wickedness falls at the feet of the leaders who do not lead better or stop it.