Hope rises among the ruins.
Zechariah was probably a child when the Jews began returning from Babylon to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. As he began delivering prophetic messages around 520 B.C., he worked closely with the prophet Haggai (see his profile at Hag. 1:1), the governor Zerubbabel (see his profile at Hag. 1:12), and especially the scribe Ezra (see his profile at Ezra 7:1).
All of these spiritual leaders had one goal in mind: to reestablish God’s people in their homeland. The exiles who had returned to Jerusalem wept when they saw the rubble that was once a glorious temple and holy city. They enthusiastically committed to rebuilding the temple and restoring their religious practices and sense of community. Fierce opposition from outsiders and the people’s own preoccupation with material wealth caused their efforts to lag, and construction halted for sixteen years (Ezra 4; Hag. 1:4). Two months after the prophet Haggai began to prod the people to resume their work, Zechariah also began to speak.
Zechariah’s visions and prophecies encouraged the returnees to obey God and enjoy His blessings (Zech. 1:3). He promoted the completion of the temple (1:16, 6:15), and he looked ahead to a Messiah who would one day rule God’s people. The Book of Zechariah is second only to the Book of Isaiah for its volume of prophecies that foreshadow Jesus (see “Zechariah’s Messianic Prophecies” at Zech. 11:16, 17).
Zechariah 1:1 attributes the book to the prophet for whom the book is named, Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet. The book is set in Jerusalem, but the prophet’s message touches on God’s work across the world and throughout time. Zechariah 1–8 is believed to be contemporaneous with Ezra 5–6.
Key Verses in Zechariah
• “ ‘Return to Me,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will return to you’ ” (Zech. 1:3).
• “ ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Zech. 4:6).
• “The eyes of the LORD … scan to and fro throughout the whole earth” (Zech. 4:10).
• “Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9).
• “Then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son” (Zech. 12:10).
• “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (Zech. 13:7).
• “And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west” (Zech. 14:4).
• “In that day ‘HOLINESS TO THE LORD’ shall be engraved on the bells of the horses” (Zech. 14:20).