Zechariah 1-6
Visions of Victory

Our God is in the heavens and does whatever He pleases. His glory is seen in His works, manifesting His hesed by faithfully fulfilling His covenantal promises to His people. Idols are just plain dumb, literally and figuratively. They can't hear prayer, see the future, nor speak things into existence. Those who trust in them, the work of their own hands, are dumb too.

These are probably the most blessing packed verses in the Bible. We bless God (115:18) because He blesses us. He blesses us with help, protection, and abundant increase/prosperity, when we trust and fear Him. Pretty simple. Yeah Yah!

Don't honor a fool; it will come back to bite you. Silence is preferable.

Ignore their curses, God will prevent it from hurting you.

Fools only understand extreme pain, and not always.

Keep your mouth shut if talking to a fool will make you like him/her. Do respond if you have a good chance of succeeding in exposing their folly (but not if you become like them in the process).

A contemporary of Haggai, Zechariah gets told by God to issue a call to repentance a little over a dozen years after the foundation of the temple had been laid. Like most construction projects, finishing the work is difficult. Like the One Minute Manager, God gives a short reproof, saying 1) He is displeased, 2) why, and 3) what to do. He then gives 4) positive and 5) negative reinforcement/incentives. They have drifted and need to repent, not being like their fathers who suffered for not doing so, because God purposes to curse disloyalty and bless obedience will follow their actions. Note how verse 6 resolves the “issue” of Divine sovereignty and Human responsibility. God has sovereignly attached consequences to certain actions; then we will get those consequences according to what we choose to do. God has determined to do according to our ways. God's sanity could be called into question for repeatedly sending them prophets, calling the people to repent, and then getting angry because they didn't, if (as some assert) He had "ordained" that they would not repent. Note that God's action (drawing near/returning to them) is dependent upon their action (of first responding to the call to repent, and returning to Him). Two questions for the hard of head and heart: “Is that an accurate understanding of the passage in its context?” “Is it consistent with God's illustration of the principle throughout the rest of Scripture, in both testaments?” If the answer is yes than one's theology needs to conform to the truth. God has sovereignly set the rules (will bless those who obey, and discipline those who don't). We'd have to be crazy to think that we have no free will in responding. Israel had angered God by exercising their will to disobey (which resulted in the Babylonian Captivity); now He is calling them to again exercise their will to repent and return, so He can be gracious to them. By the way, the same invitation is open to us today (as it has been to all children of Adam, throughout all ages). As verse 6 reminds us: He deals with us according to our ways. 

The vision of the horseman among the evergreen myrtle trees (a symbol of the Jewish people who used them for the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles) is explained: the Gentile nations are at ease, but Judah is troubled and not at peace, and God is aware of it. The man identified as the “angel of Yahweh” is considered by some to be the pre-incarnate Messiah watching out for Judah's interests. God is angry with the nations but tender toward Judah. He will return to them and see His house and city rebuilt. Notice that it was God's sovereign plan to use the nations to judge Israel, but then again, they incorrectly exercised their will (even while doing His overall will), to inflict extra harm (see v 15 in the NIV) upon Israel. Even when we are going in the direction God wants us to go, we must be careful to do things His way, or there will be negative consequences.

The next vision elaborates upon how God will execute His anger on the Gentiles. The four horns are the powers that had afflicted Judah (possibly Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Syria or the Philistines/Canaanites???) but they will be scattered by four “craftsmen” whom God will raise up (Medes/Persians, Greeks, Rome, Messiah???), a similar process described in Daniel's visions.

The man with a measuring line predicts the day when Jerusalem will be overrun with people, and God will be a wall of fire around her for protection. He will dwell in their midst, being their glory, and giving them the glory and honor of the nations. God issues a call for the exiles who haven't yet returned to do so. He also indicates that many of the nations will be His people in the day He dwells in Jerusalem, yet distinct from the apple of His eye, Judah, His portion in the holy land.

Joshua, as the high priest, representing the sins of the people is accused by Satan as unfit for blessing because of the nation's sins. Satan hates it when people get the glory he grasped at (and missed). God rebukes Satan (for the nation has been rescued from the fire by God), removes the sin, and clothes Joshua (the nation) in righteousness. In one day God will remove the iniquity of the land, which is probably not a reference to Isaiah 53 when the Messiah suffers for their sins, but to the day when the benefits of the atoning sacrifice are applied to the repentant nation when the Messiah returns. The role of the high priest was to bring the blood of the atoning sacrifice into the Holy of Holies to atone for the nation's sins. However, the blessing (not the forgiveness) is still contingent upon walking in His ways and following His instructions. Only then can they experience the blessings of ruling and access to the Divine presence. Failure to understand the difference between forgiveness and blessing is a fountain of terrible theology in the NT. The high priest and his fellow priests are a prefiguring sign of the Messiah, the Branch, a stone with seven eyes (reminiscent of Daniel's stone that smashed the kingdoms – Dan 2, and Ezekiels visions of God in His glory -Ezk 1). When the Messiah removes the sin of the land in a day, peace and prosperity will ensue (Millennial Kingdom).

As the previous vision encouraged Joshua, this one focuses on Zerubbabel. Together they encompass the dual roles of the Messiah. The olive trees and the lampstand are designed to encourage Zerubbabel to do the work God gave him to do, until it was finished. God gives supernatural strength (anointing) to bring about His purposes. The task of completing the temple was daunting. But the mountain would become a plain, and it's rock would be the blocks of the temple, with God's enablement. The trees linked to the lampstand symbolize the endless supply of oil to keep the lamps burning. The lampstand was what manifest the light of glory of God to the world, as would the temple when God's glory dwelt in it. Priests and kings were anointed to build up God's people to be a witness to the light. The oil was a symbol of the Spirit which enabled such a witness. There will be two witnesses to God's enablement in the future as well (Rev. 11:3-12).

Things are starting to get a little weird, and aren't interpreted, so any interpretation should suffice :) These two visions deal with the need for God's people to be pure and evil removed from their midst, something necessary both in Zerubabbel's day and the Messiah's day in the future.

The dimensions of the scroll correspond to those of the Holy Place of the Tabernacle (Ex 26:8) which was just outside the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. The scroll probably represents the law which was contained in the Ark on two stone tablets. The two center commandments on each tablet are on the scroll, perhaps given as representative of God's requirements. The law will seek out and judge those who break it. The false deceitful dealings and stealing highlight the need for social justice, which were lacking at times among those who returned from exile. They might have a temple, and not be practicing idol worship, but if their relationships with each other weren't as God wanted, they would suffer. The law must be followed by the whole land if they are to be exempt from judgment, and experience the blessings God wants to bestow on them.

The babe in the basket represents “Wickedness” which is what the hypocrites do (Ps 50). The ephah was a large measure, like a bushel basket, frequently used in commerce. Wickedness is confined in the basket and carried off to Shinar/Babylon by two unclean birds/storks. Perhaps by touching wickedness, they became defiled. In any event Wickedness is now established outside of Israel in Babylon. A woman from Babylon will make her appearance again in Revelation 17-18 in the last days.

The visions end where they started with angelic horsemen (cf chapter 1) accomplishing God's will on the earth. The key item is they have quieted God's Spirit in the north country (indicating Babylon).

This last section, before “messages” of the next two chapters contains instruction to crown Joshua as king, a type of the Messiah (the anti-type) who will establish His kingdom and build the Millennial Temple after the nations are judged. Note that the roles of priest and king are combined in the “Branch” (from the root of Jesse/David). Crowns is in the plural, perhaps indicating a composite crown. High priests wore turbans, not crowns. At no other time has the high priest, who had to be from the line of Levi, been sitting on the throne as the sanctioned Davidic King, who had to be from the line of Judah. The Book of Hebrews indicates the Messiah was a priest after the order of Melchizedek, not Levi. The chapter ends with an indication of those from afar off building in or upon the temple, which the Messiah constructed. This is probably a reference to the inclusion of Gentiles in the Messiah's kingdom. Participation in the Messiah's blessing will be dependent upon diligent obedience to the voice of God, just like always.