Sensitive to God
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This study only attempts to
bring out that which God has planted in the book of Zechariah. I see the words
of our text below, sent from the heart of God with a design to draw from the
heart of a true Christian a longing to be close to His heart, to feel what He
feels. Only a true Christian can respond to that challenge, for only that person
possesses the love for God, with which one can respond. Do you feel the tug at
your heart strings?
As you read, have a Bible
open to Zechariah, so that you can follow along verse by verse.
“I am
exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.”
Zechariah 8:2
An expository
study from Zechariah, chapter 8:1-9
The jealousy of the Lord
The Bible is the revelation
of God in written form. No vision or dream will ever send a clearer message to
your heart concerning His personality and attributes. From chapter 6 on, we
have been studying revelations that have been spoken with the intention that
they should be written. You will note that time and again the expression “the Lord of Hosts” is repeated (v.1). It
is in almost every verse of chapter 8 and in some verses, it is found twice. I
think that we ought to mention it every time that it appears and know the
reason that it is used. I just read the Song of Moses in Exodus 15, where the
Lord came against the army of Pharaoh and triumphed. When the divided waters of the Red
Sea fell on the Egyptians, we see the Lord demonstrating that He utilizes His creation
as an army to fight in His favor against the enemy. In this verse the Lord of
Hosts relates to revelation. He moves
heaven and earth in order to manifest His word and to keep it faithfully. His
word is powerful; it is pure, refined seven times, as silver is refined
(Ps.12:6).
Are We Really on God’s Side?
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The sign of genuine love is
found in the constant desire to seek the happiness of the beloved. God looks
for love from Israel and that that, which would be good for their God, would be the most important thing in their lives, far beyond what they want for themselves. The heart of Israel had become more and more hardened and calloused,
because they had been resisting His word constantly. As a result, the wrath of
God had to fall! I don’t know why we find it difficult to speak of the wrath of
God. We have been ashamed of one of the attributes of the Lord, in whom we
claim to believe. As Francis Chan wrote in his book, Erasing Hell: “Refusing
to teach a passage of Scripture is just as wrong as abusing it. I really
believe it’s time for some of us to stop apologizing for God and start
apologizing to Him for being embarrassed by the ways He has chosen to reveal
Himself.”
I want to remind you again to
keep your Bible open and at your side in order to look at each verse, as it is
quoted. That’s the way a Bible study works…
“When you fasted
and mourned in the fifth and seventh months these seventy years, was it
actually for Me that you fasted? When you eat and drink, do you not eat for
yourselves and do you not drink for yourselves? Zechariah 7:5-6
An expository study of Zechariah, chapter 7
Are we looking for God’s happiness
or ours in the things we do?
The second part of the book
of Zechariah (v.1) begins in chapter 7 and it is divided by time from the first
part. This part occurs two years later, in the 4th year of Darius,
in the 9th month, which is Chislev, on the 4th day. To us
that would be December of 518 B.C. (compare this with 1:1). The book also could
be divided according to the ways that Zechariah received the revelations; the
first part was given by visions and the second by the spoken word, which
begins, actually, in 6:9-15.
The Priest-King
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An expository study of Zechariah 6:9-15
One of the benefits of a verse-by-verse study of a Bible book, is that you are able to see the unity of thought with that of the rest of the Bible. Zechariah fits right in and harmonizes with both Old Testament and New. Many, who do not study the Bible carefully, miss this "tenor" or "divine mentality" of Scriputre, and tend to wander off into tangents. This is another way of saying that that they take a verse or portion out of its contents. But if we have carefully studied the Bible, when we read or hear a private interpretation of a certain verse, immediately in our hearts, we say, "No, that can't be right; it is contrary to the "tenor" of the rest of Scripture. It doesn't fit into the mind of Christ." Please open to the 6th chapter of Zechariah and follow along in your Bibles...
A revelation
The coronation of Joshua
Having fulfilled His purpose
in the north country, which was a work of propitiation that gave Him rest, God
moves forward in the work of reestablishing Israel in its land. He continues to
reveal His will to Zechariah (v.9). The preceding revelations came in visual
form; they were visions. From this point onward, he does not describe things
that he sees, but things that he hears, which God has spoken; they are audible
revelations. “The word of the Lord also
came to me saying…”
God names three men, who have
recently arrived from Babylon, from whom Zechariah is to take an offering
(v.10). They are quickly involved in His work. The King of heaven does not need
the things that men hold, nor does He want to take things from them, but He
wants to change temporal things into eternal things, earthly things into
heavenly things, and material things into spiritual things. This is an area of
daily life, of which Jesus had much to teach us and through this we can see the
great difference between a humanistic point of view, which is egoistic, and
divine thought, which is totally opposite of egotism.
God’s Spirit at Rest
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An expository study of Zechariah 6:1-8
The eighth
vision: The mission of the four chariots
and horses
We come to a chronological
end of the Old Testament with the books of Zechariah, Haggai, Ezra, Esther,
Nehemiah and Malachi. If you are following this study of Zechariah in your
Bible, you should have noticed that God is presented many times in the prophecy
as the Lord of Hosts. He and His heavenly forces are warring in the affairs of
men. We have seen angels mounted on horseback on reconnaissance missions
(1:10), led by the majestic divine Angel of the Lord. It is all demonstrated in
visions, according to the military system known in the time of Zechariah. They
report situations that occur on earth and then, the Lord of Hosts dispatches military
movements to carry out His will. They have to do with His purposes in the time
of the prophet, but they also extend far into the future until the end of world
history. The God of all the earth is also God of all time on the earth.
We will try to see and
understand what Zechariah saw, as best we can, but we also can bring into play
different portions of the Bible, in order to clarify principles and symbols
that remain constant throughout the divine revelation. God is giving His people,
in every century, the opportunity and privilege to know things, of which there
are no other fountains of information on earth. Besides, He shares His
feelings, speaking of His anger, jealousy, pleasure and comfort, showing us the
reasons behind His actions. This can only stem from a desire to have intimacy
with individuals, who care about how God feels (1:12-14; 2:8; 8:2).
Clearly, in chapter one, as
the book begins, God opens His heart to His people. In verse 12, the Angel of
the Lord prays to the Lord of Hosts and we will notice the little word ‘O’,
which always signifies deep desires. The Angel is the Son of God, who exclaims,
‘O righteous Father’ in John 17:25 in a prayer that is meant for believers in
the entire history of the church (John 17:20). In Paul’s letters to the
churches, we can see how his writings reached and informed members to the end
of time (1 Th.4:17; 2 Th.2:1-12; 1 Tim.4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-9 and 4:3-4, for
example).
About Building a Temple in Babel
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An expository
study in chapter 5:5-11
I remind you
again to read my comments with the Bible open and at hand, so you can read each
verse as we come to it. This is how a Bible study functions and the main
purpose is to perceive what the Author, the Holy Spirit, wants to impart to
Zechariah for the people of his day, as well as for future generations. We can
then consider how it may apply personally to our lives and the situation around
us.
The seventh vision:
The Ephah
When sin fills to the brink
In the previous vision,
Zechariah lifts his eyes without prompting, but in this seventh vision, before
he can react, the angel commands him to lift his eyes. The text states (v.5)
that the angel “went out”, that is,
that he without delay proceeded forward. In the last vision, the angel asked, “What do you see?”, but this time
Zechariah asks, “What is it?”
Perhaps Zechariah cannot
identify the object physically. It may be that it was not an object known to
him and that he could not recognize its properties and so he needs a good
explanation. I think that concerning some things, people would rather not “lift
up their eyes” and they are afraid to ask about them. There are things that
they would rather not know, but the person, who sees the things of God as vital
to his life, is in a school where he continually is learning new things (v.6).
This is his eighth question.
I never tire of emphasizing the importance of asking questions. The Gospels
mark a difference between those who only came near Jesus to experience His
presence, hear His voice and observe His works, and those who looked for Him to
be alone, so that He would explain the meaning of the things, of which He spoke.
These two categories still exist today among Christians and the difference
between them is a matter of trust. In what do they trust? The first category of
people trusts in a certain atmosphere and in things that they experience. The
second are only satisfied, when they know the truth.
The Inscription: I WILL REMOVE THE INIQUITY
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I repeat: If
you will read the biblical text first, then go on to peruse my comments with
the open Bible handy, you will see exactly to what I am referring. This is the
way that a Bible study works and the idea is to perceive what the Author, the
Holy Spirit, wanted to share with His prophet, Zechariah, so that he would
write His thoughts, first of all, for the benefit of the people of his day.
Then, as He knew perfectly well, these words would be transferred through the
millenniums until they found the people, who would experience personally their
final fulfillment.
An expository
study of the book of Zechariah
Who will bring a
charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who
condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died.” Romans 8:33, 34
Chapter three: The
fourth vision
The judgment of Joshua
Before we begin this study,
we ought to know that Joshua is symbolic. That is clearly revealed later in
verses 8-10 and this vision points to a future time. Joshua was the high priest
in the time of Zechariah, who received the order to rebuild the temple. In a
court scene, he is before the Angel of the Lord. Satan, the accusing attorney,
is at his right hand and is opposing the work that God wants to carry out
(v.1). He always finds plenty of evidence for his case. How we need the paracletos… a Defense Attorney, a
Helper, a Comforter!
The Angel of the Lord is the
Mediator between Joshua and the Father, and in the name of the Father, He
rebukes Satan (v.2). We might think that Jude 9 refers to this case, because of
the similar words, “The Lord rebuke you!”, but Jude mentions the archangel
Michael and the body of Moses, who is accused because of his sin at Meribah. So
this is another case. We note three things that the Lord (the Son) does: 1) He
rebukes Satan, 2) by His grace, He elects an unworthy Joshua, and 3) he reveals
a purpose for Jerusalem. God rebukes the satanic opposition to the
people and places, where God is working. This man is already condemned… God
knows exactly everything, of which Satan accuses him. He knew it before he
chose him, but he rescues and saves him.
God’s Glory in Jerusalem
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I repeat: For your own profit and better understanding, read our text first, then go on to peruse my comments with the open Bible handy. In this way, you will see exactly to what I am referring. This is the way that a Bible study works and the idea is to perceive what the Author, the Holy Spirit, wanted to share with His prophet, Zechariah, so that he would write His thoughts, first of all, for the benefit of the people of his day. Then, as He knew perfectly well, these words would be transferred through the millenniums until they found the people, who would experience personally their final fulfillment.
An expository study of the book of Zechariah
Chapter two: The third vision
An urgent word
God said in 1:16 that a
measuring line would be stretched over Jerusalem. Here we see in 2:1 a man with
a measuring line (some think it is the Angel of the Lord who measures the
city). First he is going to measure its dimensions and afterwards Jerusalem
will be built according to the measures of a preordained plan.
There are people who like big
meetings and talk of feeling 'the presence' among the multitude. Great
multitudes were attracted to Jesus to see Him and the miracles that He did, to
hear His parables and then return home, satisfied for what they had experienced,
sharing with everyone the things they had seen.
When the multitude dispersed, there were others, besides the twelve,
who were among them, who were waiting for a time, when Jesus would be alone. I am very interested in them (Mk.4:10). They asked Him about the parables and Jesus let them know, “To you has been given the
mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in
parables” (Mk.4:11). These people were not of the twelve, but they also
were not of the multitude en general. They were people with hunger and thirst
to know the mysteries of God. Jesus not only lauded them for their good
desires, but He gave them the answers that they desired.
This same longing beat in the
heart of the young man, Zechariah, and in verse two he asks his fourth
question. He wanted to know what was to be measured with this line. Now we see
the same good will on the part of God and His angels to answer the questions of
those who are desirous to know the movements of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is
the Word of God and Words are for communication. “All things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you” (Jn.15:15).
God is a communicator. He is more than willing to share with those, who are
sincere in their search. For that reason, He gave us a Bible.
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