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In this letter we will see the eight visions in the book of Zechariah and their general explanation.
Historical Background
God's throne was no longer in Jerusalem.
1 Chronicles 29:23
So Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him.
The Persian empire was in power. Comparatively few Jews had returned to Jerusalem and even those had stopped working.
Ezra 4:24
Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Zechariah lived among this poor, feeble, and oppressed "remnant" (Ezra 5: 1) which had very little to boast of: no display of power, no miracles, no sign of God's presence, not even the glory cloud.
Ezra 5:1
Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet, a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.
Should God allow this sad condition to persist indefinitely?
Vision 1 - The Horsemen On A Red Horse
Zechariah 1:7-17
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.
8 During the night I had a vision--and there before me was a man riding a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
9 I asked, "What are these, my lord?" The angel who was talking with me answered, "I will show you what they are."
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, "They are the ones the LORD has sent to go throughout the earth."
11 And they reported to the angel of the LORD, who was standing among the myrtle trees, "We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace."
12 Then the angel of the LORD said, "LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?"
13 So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, "Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,
15 but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.'
16 "Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,' declares the LORD Almighty.
17 "Proclaim further: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.'"
God always watches over Judah. When God's people are oppressed, He may not always intervene but He is far from being indifferent. (v.14) Jehovah is jealous for Jerusalem and Zion (Disciples). (v.16) He will again show mercy and His house will be rebuilt. (v.17) God's town (people) will again overflow with prosperity.
What if the powers of the world oppresses us?
Vision 2 - The 4 Horns & 4 Craftsmen
Zechariah 1:18-21
18 Then I looked up--and there before me were four horns!
19 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these?" He answered me, "These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem."
20 Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
21 I asked, "What are these coming to do?" He answered, "These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people."
The defeat of Judah's enemies. And it is just as certain that, for every opposing power, God has a suited instrument to deal with it in due course.
Will God take an interest in a city / people largely consisting of "stones,. dust" (Ps. 102: 14) and ruins?
Psalm 102:14
For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity.
Vision 3 - The Measuring Line
Zechariah 2:1-13
1 Then I looked up--and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand!
2 I asked, "Where are you going?" He answered me, "To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is."
3 Then the angel who was speaking to me left, and another angel came to meet him
4 and said to him: "Run, tell that young man, 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it.
5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the LORD, 'and I will be its glory within.'
6 "Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north," declares the LORD, "for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven," declares the LORD.
7 "Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon!"
8 For this is what the LORD Almighty says: "After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you--for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye--
9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.
10 "Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you," declares the LORD.
11 "Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.
12 The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem.
13 Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."
The future look of the new Jersusalem. We can be assured of God's keen interest in the weakest effort to be a faithful testimony to Him. Jehovah Himself will come (v. 10) and dwell in their midst (v. 11)
How can this land be holy (Zech. 3: 9)? Are we not all defiled? What about our guilt?
Vision 4 - The High Priest Reclothed
Zechariah 3:1-10
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.
2 The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?"
3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel.
4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes." Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you."
5 Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.
6 The angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua:
7 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.
8 "'Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.
10 "'In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,' declares the LORD Almighty."
The spiritual renewal of the people. The Lord will provide for His people in view of their defilement and failure (if judged), as well as in view of the weakness of those involved. God will remove the sin of this land in a single day (v.9)
What about our weakness? How can a testimony possibly be maintained under these circumstances?
Vision 5 - The Lampstand & Olive Trees
Zechariah 4:1-14
1 Then the angel who talked with me returned and wakened me, as a man is wakened from his sleep.
2 He asked me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights.
3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left."
4 I asked the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?"
5 He answered, "Do you not know what these are?" "No, my lord," I replied.
6 So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.
7 "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it! God bless it!'"
8 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
9 "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.
10 "Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. "(These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range throughout the earth.)"
11 Then I asked the angel, "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?"
12 Again I asked him, "What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?"
13 He replied, "Do you not know what these are?" "No, my lord," I said.
14 So he said, "These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth."
Success of rebuilding comes from God. Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.
But will God overlook the evil that pertains among us?
Vision 6 - The Flying Scroll
Zechariah 5:1-4
1 I looked again--and there before me was a flying scroll!
2 He asked me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide."
3 And he said to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished.
4 The LORD Almighty declares, 'I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in his house and destroy it, both its timbers and its stones.'"
A curse is promised for those who steal.
Vision 7 - The Woman in a Basket
Zechariah 5:5-11
5 Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, "Look up and see what this is that is appearing."
6 I asked, "What is it?" He replied, "It is a measuring basket. " And he added, "This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land."
7 Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman!
8 He said, "This is wickedness," and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed the lead cover down over its mouth.
9 Then I looked up--and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.
10 "Where are they taking the basket?" I asked the angel who was speaking to me.
11 He replied, "To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When it is ready, the basket will be set there in its place."
Deals with iniquity in all the land.
We must never assume that God overlooks or tolerates evil. Whether it be against our neighbour (vision 6) or against Himself (vision 7), He will judge it.
Should we submit to Gentile/World powers at all? Is it not sufficient to respect the leaders God has given us?
Vision 8 - The Four Chariots
Zechariah 6:1-8
1 I looked up again--and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains--mountains of bronze!
2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black,
3 the third white, and the fourth dappled--all of them powerful.
4 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, "What are these, my lord?"
5 The angel answered me, "These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world.
6 The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south."
7 When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, "Go throughout the earth!" So they went throughout the earth.
8 Then he called to me, "Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit rest in the land of the north."
God will powerfully fulfill His promises. We are to respect God's ways of providence and to be aware that, although He moves behind the scene, He governs and directs all things perfectly according to His plans.
Today the question we need to ask ourselves is, are we an instrument in the plan of God?
Matthew 6:33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
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