Name means: “The Lord Remembers.”
Not to be confused with: At least 27 other men of the same name in the Bible, including the son and successor of Jeroboam II (2 Kin. 14:29; 15:8) and the father of John the Baptist (Zacharias; Luke 1:5).
Home: Probably born in Babylon; relocated to Jerusalem, possibly in the return of 538 B.C.
Family: Grandson of Iddo; son of Berechiah.
Occupation: Probably a Levite (if Neh. 12:16 refers to him); a prophet in postexilic Jerusalem.
Best known for: His eight apocalyptic visions and two prophecies that reprimanded Jerusalem’s citizens and urged them to finish rebuilding the temple.
Go to the Person Profiles Index.
Zechariah envisioned a new Jerusalem “without walls,” a state unthinkable in that day, when walls were a city’s first (and sometimes only) line of defense (see “Five Ways to Capture a Walled City” at 2 Kin. 25:1–4). At the time Zechariah spoke these words (519 B.C.), Jerusalem itself was in “great distress and reproach” (Neh. 1:3), with its walls still in ruins after the Babylonian siege decades earlier.
Walls imply the presence of a hostile world, a world divided into “them” and “us.” Yet because God pledged Himself as a “wall of fire all around her” (Zech. 2:5), the new Jerusalem would stand secure despite being crowded with strangers. Zechariah echoed prophecies of Isaiah, Haggai, and others who have foreseen that God’s new kingdom will be open to all who bow to Him no matter their background (Is. 66:18–23; Hag. 2:6, 7). The nations will reinhabit the holy city and dwell there in peace and safety (Zech. 14:10–11, 16, 17).
Go to the Insight Index.
The Book of Zechariah contains more references to angels—ranging from Satan to the Angel of the Lord—than almost any other Old Testament book. The apocalyptic nature of these writings tempts some to dismiss angels as figurative or mythological. But angels are real spiritual beings who serve God and His people (see “Angels” at Rev. 7:1).
The Bible describes Satan as a fallen angel who leads a vast army of other fallen angels in open rebellion against God (see “Demons” at Luke 11:14). The Angel of the Lord frequently mentioned by Zechariah (Zech. 1:11–13; 3:1–6; 12:8) and other Old Testament writers may refer to appearances of the preincarnate Christ. Other angels in Zechariah served as special messengers or agents of revelation (1:9, 14, 19; 2:3; 4:1, 4, 5; 5:5, 10; 6:4, 5).
Looking elsewhere in Scripture, we see angels active long before Zechariah’s time:
• Abraham was visited by angels (Gen. 18:1, 2, 16; 19:1), and Jacob saw visions of angels (28:10–12; 32:1, 2).
• The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush (Ex. 3:1, 2) and led the Israelites through the wilderness (14:19).
• The Angel of the Lord confronted Balaam’s donkey and made it speak (Num. 22:22–35).
• The Angel of the Lord told Gideon to lead the Israelites against the Midianites (Judg. 6:11–24).
• An angel helped Elijah as he fled from Jezebel (1 Kin. 19:5–8).
Prophets who preached before the Babylonian exile rarely mentioned angels, but postexilic prophets, especially Daniel and Zechariah, alluded to them frequently. This shift is often observed in connection with the long period of spiritual darkness ushered in by the Exile. The temple at Jerusalem had been destroyed, and the Lord’s glory had departed from Israel. God may have used angels to comfort His people, providing them with visual, palpable reassurances of His faithfulness during an era of suffering.
Go to the Insight Index.
Scripture presents Satan as a fallen angel in constant and total antagonism to God, creation, and human beings. He is not idle, moreover, but actively pursues our destruction. While we need not be afraid of Satan, we should be aware of his existence and stay alert to his schemes so that we are not caught off guard by them.
• Satan accuses the faithful, attempting to overload them with guilt (Job 1:6–11; Eph. 4:27; 6:11; Rev. 12:10). The term the devil means “false witness” or “malicious accuser,” and appears thirty-five times in the New King James translation of the Bible, always in the New Testament.
• Satan specializes in deceit (Gen. 3:1–7), sometimes masquerading as an “angel of light” as if he represents God (2 Cor. 11:14). Jesus called him the father of lies (John 8:44).
• Satan tempts people to do wrong, intending to cause them pain and incite them to break God’s commands (Matt. 4:1–11; 1 Cor. 10:13; 1 Thess. 3:5).
• Satan exercises significant influence. Three times Jesus described him in Scripture as the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Paul used similar expressions (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2).
The Bible teaches us how to respond to this dangerous enemy:
• We can rejoice that Christ’s death and resurrection have defeated Satan. We therefore have no reason to submit to the devil or fear him (Heb. 2:14, 15; 1 John 3:8; Rev. 20:10). Jesus met the devil’s temptations head on—and won (Luke 4:1–13; Heb. 4:15).
• We can rest in the knowledge that God limits Satan’s power. Satan is not free to do whatever he wants (Job 1:7–12; 2:6; John 14:30, 31; 2 Thess. 2:7, 8).
• We can stand against Satan and cause him to flee (1 Pet. 5:8, 9; James 4:7).
• We must equip ourselves for this constant battle (Eph. 6:13–18).
• We need to lean on God for power to escape Satan’s enticements (Eph. 6:11; 1 Cor. 10:13).
• We must stay alert against Satan’s schemes. Our battle with Satan is a life-and-death struggle that can result in real casualties (1 Tim. 3:7; 1 Pet. 5:8; Jude 9).
More: The Bible uses a range of descriptive titles to reveal Satan’s evil character. See “Names for Satan in the New Testament” at Rev. 9:11.
Go to the Focus Index.
Few people enjoy being challenged with facts or ideas that contradict their established opinions, yet the Old Testament prophets had to constantly confront people with realities that were hard to accept. As God’s messengers, their job was to speak truth even when it conflicted with their listeners’ perceptions. For example, Zechariah gave the governor Zerubbabel a word from the Lord that conflicted on several points with what everyone accepted as truth. He said:
• God does not accomplish His work through worldly force. God’s Spirit empowers His causes in the world (Zech. 4:6). Human energy, creativity, and planning can contribute to His work, but they count for little without spiritual strength (compare Ezek. 37:1–14).
• Grace can move enormous mountains, reducing peaks to plains (Zech. 4:7). Zerubbabel saw this firsthand when God removed opponents who stood in the way of the temple’s completion (Ezra 4:1—6:12).
• Small things show off God’s work (Zech. 4:9, 10). Zerubbabel and his people undertook a project that would never be as glorious as the temple of Solomon’s day. Yet God’s presence made the building just as significant.
• God determines true standards (4:10). Like a carpenter with a plumb line, the Lord evaluates the whole earth. This truth from Zechariah is similar to Amos’s description of God measuring His people’s worship and integrity (Amos 7:7–9; compare 2 Kin. 21:13).
The prophets and, indeed, all the Scriptures provide us with revelation from God, a disclosure of truth that we would otherwise fail to perceive because sin blinds us (Job 42:3; Rom. 1:16–20; Heb. 1:1, 2). God’s Word always challenges and corrects our perceptions. Humility enables us to accept that God is right and that we are often wrong. And accepting His truth leads to life (Prov. 3:5–8).
Go to the Focus Index.
Israel was a theocracy in which God governed directly through the Law and indirectly through priests and kings. During the monarchy, kings often overruled priests and other religious leaders (1 Sam. 22:9–19; 1 Kin. 18:4). After the Exile, the monarchy was disrupted and governors ruled in place of kings. Priests rose to greater significance, and a more equal balance of power came to exist between religious leaders and secular authorities.
This was the shared leadership that Zechariah saw in a vision of two olive trees with branches dripping into gold receptacles. The trees represented two “anointed ones,” governor and high priest, heads of the nation’s civil and spiritual lives. During the era when Zechariah prophesied, Zerubbabel was governor and Joshua the high priest. For later returnees, Nehemiah was governor and Ezra the priest. Ultimately, the two offices would be joined in one person, Jesus the Messiah. He is the King-Priest, not only for Israel but for the whole world.
Go to the Insight Index.
A parable is a truth wrapped in a memorable story or word picture. A parable can be fictional, dramatized, or the result of a vision. Jesus delivered much of His teaching through parables (see “The Parables of Jesus” at Luke 8:4), as did several Old Testament prophets, including Zechariah with his eight visions:
1. The Man and Horses Among Myrtle Trees (Zech. 1:8–17)
Indicated that God would again show mercy to Jerusalem.
2. The Four Horns and the Four Craftsmen (1:18–20)
Revealed that the Babylonians and others who scattered Judah would be cast out.
3. The Man with a Measuring Line (2:1, 2)
Promised that God would be a protective wall of fire around Jerusalem.
4. The Cleansing of Joshua’s Garments (3:1–10)
Illustrated God’s redemptive work for His people.
5. The Golden Lampstand and Olive Trees (4:1–14)
Symbolized how God would empower His people through the Holy Spirit.
6. The Flying Scroll (5:1–4)
Showed the curse that comes to dishonesty.
7. The Woman in the Basket (5:5–11)
Illustrated a removal of wickedness.
8. The Four Chariots (6:1–8)
Revealed that heavenly beings would execute judgment on the whole earth.
More: Jeremiah and Ezekiel also used parables to communicate their message. See “The Parables of Jeremiah” at Jer. 18:1–10 and “The Parables of Ezekiel” at Ezek. 15:1–8.
Go to the Insight Index.
Empty Stomachs for an Empty Ritual
God never lets religious ritual take the place of practical, everyday action. As He said through Zechariah, even important spiritual disciplines such as fasting will amount to nothing if we lack justice, mercy, and compassion.
The Lord’s people in Babylon had imposed two annual fasts on themselves. A fast in the fifth month (Ab, or July/August) commemorated the temple’s destruction (2 Kin. 25:8, 9). A second fast in the seventh month (Tishri, or September/October) memorialized the assassination of Gedaliah, governor of Judah after Jerusalem’s destruction (Jer. 41:1–3). God had commanded neither of these fasts, but that was not the reason for the Lord’s rebuke. The Lord criticized the returnees for substituting empty religion—whether fasting or feasting—for true spirituality. Like their ancestors (Is. 58:1–9), they kept up religious rituals but failed to embrace the meaning behind them.
God’s followers today face the same challenge. Attending church, reading the Bible, praying, and sharing our faith are important, but they need to be matched by Christlike character, especially in how we treat others. It is the reason for our actions, not the actions themselves, that matters to God.
Go to the Focus Index.
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that can be especially meaningful for the prosperous. Zechariah called for fasting during a season of financial growth. As the citizens of Jerusalem rebuilt their city, they were making money and moving up the economic ladder. Zechariah challenged these people with fasting within the context of community development and social justice (Zech. 7:6–10). Fasting helps us …
1. Feel what it is like to live with hunger.
2. Rely on God’s spiritual resources to sustain us.
3. Focus on the Lord.
4. Identify with and gain compassion for the poor.
Scripture teaches us that just as our bodies hunger and thirst for food and drink, so our souls hunger and thirst for the Lord. Jesus promised that those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness … will be filled” (Matt. 5:6). Psalm 107:9 proclaims that God “satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” While fasting is not a mandatory practice for modern believers, it can be a valuable method for better understanding our spiritual hunger and the spiritual nourishment our God provides.
More: Scripture also suggests a number of other purposes for fasting. See “The Value of Fasting” at 1 Chr. 10:12.
Go to the Focus Index.
Blessings for the City
Jacob Riis (1849–1914) was one of the first and most influential social documentarians of the photographic age, who himself climbed out of an immigrant netherworld on his journey to expose the plight of New York City’s poor. Riis emigrated to the United States from his native Denmark in 1870 after his marriage proposal to his employer’s daughter Elisabeth was blocked by her father. Setting off with ninety dollars and a gold locket containing a strand of Elisabeth’s hair, Riis crossed the Atlantic and landed in what was then the most densely populated square mile in the world, New York City’s Lower East Side.
Drawn by the promise of jobs to come, millions of European immigrants had flocked to the city only to fall victim to an economic collapse that lasted from 1882 to 1887. Poverty-stricken, many now lived ten to fifteen to a room amid squalor and epidemics that claimed one in five children. Riis stumbled between carpentry work, odd jobs, and unemployment. At his most destitute he slept on a tombstone and survived on scavenged food.
The companionship of a stray dog once saved Riis from throwing himself into the Hudson River’s frigid waters. The small comfort felt like God’s own hand restraining him. After a night in one of the city’s police lodgings—disgracefully unsanitary places he would later help to shut down—Riis told an officer that his treasured locket had been stolen. When the officer threw Riis out on the street, the dog bit the officer’s ankle and in retaliation was beaten to death. Riis’s outrage fueled his desire to end the abuse of the destitute and the homeless. As he later put it, “My dog did not die unavenged.”
Riis eventually found work as a journalist, falling back on skills he had developed while helping his father produce a small weekly paper in Denmark. Riis had been determined not to ask God for help, but now he bowed his head against a church and prayed for strength to do the work that had come to him. When Riis later professed faith in Christ at a Methodist revival, he assumed he should become a preacher. The pastor told him to hang on to his consecrated pen, and thereafter Riis saw his work as a charge from God.
As a police reporter for the New York Herald, Riis investigated one of the worst of the city’s slums, Mulberry Bend. He was horrified at the police corruption, the overcrowded and disease-ridden tenements, and the lack of compassion for the suffering of the urban poor, who were thought by middle-class people to be wholly responsible for their own poverty. Their problems were largely ignored by public officials, while private charities contented themselves with soup kitchens and moral encouragement. Riis concluded that real reform required not just economic legislation but spiritual vision. The middle and upper classes must see a city full of souls loved by God, people worth saving.
Riis experimented with photography in order to produce truthful evidence of the terrible living conditions in Mulberry Bend. The tenements were without windows, fire escapes, running water, or toilets. By contrasting his human subjects’ expressions and gestures with the shabbiness of their physical surroundings, Riis produced images that persuaded others of the need for change. He lectured, published pictures, and summed up his experiences in his popular book How the Other Half Lives. While his own church refused to view his presentations, others welcomed him. He gained loyal support from New York City’s police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt, who walked the beat with him, became his lifelong friend and confidant, and, to Riis, was “the best American I ever knew.” Riis’s work led to widespread urban reform, from demolishing tenements and police lodgings to creating parks and decontaminating the city’s water supply. With confidence in God’s willingness to bless this world, Riis put his talents to work and watched change happen.
Go to the Life Studies Index.
Zechariah envisioned the ruin of Lebanon, Bashan, and “the pride [or thicket] of the Jordan.” The prophet anticipated a climactic future judgment, but Lebanon’s magnificent cedar forests were already in severe decline because of over-cutting and poor environmental management. See “The Cedar Trade” at 1 Kings 7:2.
Go to the Insight Index.
Zechariah’s Messianic Prophecies
Zechariah envisioned a Good Shepherd one day supplanting Israel’s evil leaders. But this Good Shepherd would first be rejected and His sheep scattered (Zech. 13:7). Zechariah spoke his prophecies hundreds of years before they were fulfilled by Jesus, the Good Shepherd (John 10:1–18; 1 Pet. 5:4):
Prophecy | New Testament Fulfillment |
A ruler on the throne (Zech. 2:10–13) | |
A holy priesthood (Zech. 3:8) | |
A heavenly high priest (Zech. 6:12, 13) | |
A price of 30 pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12, 13) | |
Silver used to buy a potter’s field (Zech. 11:13) | |
Piercing the Messiah’s body (Zech. 12:10) | |
Wounding the Shepherd Savior and scattering His sheep (Zech. 13:1, 6, 7) |
More: For a wider perspective on how the prophets foretold the arrival of Jesus, see “Prophecies of a Coming Messiah” at Ps. 40:6–8 and “A Month-Long Journey Awaiting the Messiah” at Ps. 118:22.
Go to the Insight Index.
Although many hundreds of years separated Jesus from the minor prophets, He frequently cited their words and ideas. Five centuries after Zechariah spoke (c. 520 B.C.), Jesus applied to Himself the prophet’s ancient words about a Shepherd being struck and His sheep scattered (Matt. 26:31). Note Christ’s other references to the messages of the minor prophets:
• Pointing out that loyalty to Him might divide families, Jesus referred to Micah’s words about parents and children set against each other (Matt. 10:35, 36; Mic. 7:6).
• Defending John the Baptist’s role as the forerunner of His arrival, He quoted Malachi: “Behold I send a messenger … who will prepare Your way before You” (Matt. 11:10; Mal. 3:1).
• Explaining the kind of faith that He expected from His followers, Jesus quoted Hosea: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (Matt. 12:7; Hos. 6:6).
• Revealing His coming death, burial, and resurrection, He alluded to Jonah’s experience of “three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish.” Then He gave notice: “A greater than Jonah is here” (Matt. 12:40, 41; Jon. 1:17; 3:5–9).
• Denouncing a demand by Pharisees and Sadducees for miraculous signs, He said they would only be given the “sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matt. 16:1–4).
• Responding to a Jewish high priest’s query about whether He was the Christ, Jesus cited Daniel: “I am. And you will see the Son of Man … coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62; Dan. 7:13; Daniel is considered a major prophet, a classification based solely on book length).
• Describing people’s grief in reaction to His execution, Jesus quoted a passage from Hosea: “They will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ ” (Luke 23:30; Hos. 10:8).
The New Testament shows that Jesus fulfilled the prophets’ insights that God would send His Messiah both to save and to judge. These internal confirmations within Scripture give us reason to take God’s Word seriously. We can trust the Bible’s revelation of this astonishing Savior and the new life He offers.
Go to the Insight Index.
The Book of Zechariah strengthened post-exilic Israel in many of the same ways that the Book of Revelation fortified the early church. John’s vision in Revelation of a new Jerusalem triumphing over wicked Babylon (Rev. 18, 21; see also “Babylon: A Symbol of Evil” at Rev. 14:8) encouraged first-century Christians, who had seen or heard of Rome’s sacking of Jerusalem in A.D. 66–70. Similarly, Zechariah’s prophecy of a new Jerusalem would have encouraged Jews who had survived the Exile and were living with memories, stories, and lingering evidence of Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem.
Go to the Insight Index.