TEXT [Commentary]

black diamond   I.   Four Chariots (6:1-8)

1 Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two bronze mountains. 2 The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses, 3 the third by white horses, and the fourth by powerful dappled-gray horses. 4 “And what are these, my lord?” I asked the angel who was talking with me.

5 The angel replied, “These are the four spirits[*] of heaven who stand before the Lord of all the earth. They are going out to do his work. 6 The chariot with black horses is going north, the chariot with white horses is going west,[*] and the chariot with dappled-gray horses is going south.”

7 The powerful horses were eager to set out to patrol the earth. And the LORD said, “Go and patrol the earth!” So they left at once on their patrol.

8 Then the LORD summoned me and said, “Look, those who went north have vented the anger of my Spirit[*] there in the land of the north.”

NOTES

6:1 four chariots. The chariots pulled by teams of horses in Zechariah’s last vision stand in contrast to the horses in the first vision by virtue of their differing military role (1:7-18). According to Baldwin (1972:131) chariots were the “storm troops” of the ancient world. They symbolize both the swiftness and the decisive power of God in his intervention in human affairs.

two bronze mountains. Numerous explanations have been offered for the significance of the two bronze mountains of Zechariah’s vision. Less likely are the suggestions that the bronze color simply represents the rising sun tinting the mountains with early morning amber light or that the prophet has borrowed the imagery of Babylonian mythology depicting the sun-god rising between two mountains. More likely are the ideas that the two bronze mountains are enhanced images of the two bronze pillars that once flanked the entrance to Solomon’s Temple (1 Kgs 7:13-22), with bronze symbolizing the impregnable strength of God’s abode (see the discussion in Baldwin 1972:130-131).

6:2 red . . . black . . . white . . . dappled-gray horses. Like the two bronze mountains, the search for the meaning behind the colors of the teams of chariot-horses has provoked considerable scholarly discussion. Most often, the colors of the four teams of horses are associated with the riders on horses in the seal vision of Revelation (with white representing victory, red for war and slaughter, black for famine, and dappled-gray for death; Rev 6:1-8). If this is a correct understanding of the symbolism, then divine judgment in the form of famine and pestilence is directed to the north (Mesopotamia), while divine judgment in the form of plague and death is headed south (Egypt)—the two directions marking the perennial enemies of Israel. The westerly direction (lit., “after them” [NLT mg], reflecting the directional orientation of the inhabitants of the biblical world to the east) of the white horses would then signify the victory of God in the form of the return of the Hebrews from exile in Mesopotamia (see Mason 1977:60 on the importance of this bilateral north–south movement in the vision).

6:5 four spirits. The four chariots (6:1) are identified as the “four spirits of heaven” by the interpreting angel (6:5). The four “spirits” or “winds” of heaven (ruakh [TH7307, ZH8120]) are generally understood to represent the four primary compass points (see note on 2:6 concerning the “four winds”). Here the “four spirits of heaven” represented by the teams of chariot-horses are personified as members of the divine council who report their reconnaissance missions to God. This suggests that each of the teams of chariot-horses may transport an angelic being of some sort, even as the NLT assumes the horses carried angelic riders in Zechariah’s first vision (1:7-17; see notes on 1:8). The fact that the teams of chariot-horses have the capacity to serve as agents of God’s judgment lends support to this idea (6:8). According to Mason (1977:60), the number four signifies “God’s world-wide dominion.”

6:7 patrol. See the discussion of “patrol the earth” in the note on 1:10. The teams of (chariot) horses are portrayed as both “powerful” and “eager” (6:7) to go out and do the Lord’s work (6:5). It is important to note, however, that they only move on the Lord’s command (6:7).

6:8 the LORD summoned me. It seems significant that the series of visions witnessed by Zechariah close with a word from the Lord directly to the prophet. It is unclear whether or not the interpreting angel continues to speak in vv. 7-8 (so Petersen 1984:270-272) or if the Lord himself now engages in the discourse (so NLT; cf. Meyers and Meyers 1987:329 who identify the speaker in vv. 7-8 as Yahweh on the basis of the possessive pronoun “my Spirit”). In bypassing the interpreting angel in the discourse at the very end of the sequence of night visions, God may be emphasizing the sure and effective implementation of his word to Israel through the prophet.

vented the anger of my Spirit. Lit., “given my Spirit rest” (NLT mg; cf. NRSV, “have set my spirit at rest”). The word “spirit” (ruakh [TH7307, ZH8120]) may indicate anger in certain contexts, as understood here by the NLT (cf. Judg 8:3; Isa 33:11). In Ezek 5:13 the combination of nwh (“rest”) with khemah (“wrath”) connotes the idea of God causing his wrath to rest in the sense of venting his anger (cf. McComiskey 1998:1110). Unlike Ezek 5:13, Zech 6:8 makes no reference to God’s wrath suggesting that God’s spirit has settled in the north country among the Hebrew exiles. Meyers and Meyers (1987:331) conclude that the presence of God’s spirit in the northland legitimizes the restoration efforts of the Jews because “no matter how powerful the Persian imperial domination may seem, the cosmic power of Yahweh. . . . lies behind Persian political decisions.”

COMMENTARY [Text]

Although the details of the two visions vary, the messages of Zechariah’s first and last visions are essentially the same. The horses and riders of the first vision (1:7-17) patrol the earth as a divine scouting party. The addition of the chariots in the final vision suggests that God was sending off these angelic agents on a military campaign. The basic message of the two visions, however, is expressed in the phrase “the Lord of all the earth” (6:5). God’s control of the “four spirits of heaven” (6:5) stresses his universal sovereignty over the nations. The fact that this message encloses the night vision section of Zechariah like a pair of bookends tells us that this spiritual reality was vital to the prophet’s message of comfort and encouragement to postexilic Judah.

According to Craigie (1984:186), the departure of the teams of chariot-horses on a worldwide mission of military intervention establishes part of the core meaning for all the visions. God’s revelation to Zechariah indicated that beyond the rebuilt Temple and a rejuvenated government, Israel could be assured that God would follow through on his promise to “shake the heavens and the earth . . . [and] overthrow royal thrones,” and then establish his kingdom in the world (cf. Hag 2:21-22). “Only when foreign nations were overthrown could the chosen people be truly free once again” (Craigie 1984:186).

Zechariah’s final vision highlights two enduring theological truths that are repeated themes in Zechariah and the Bible as a whole. First, God is indeed Lord of human history (Isa 46:9-10; Jude 1:25; Rev 15:3). Second, God’s word is absolutely sure and true (Matt 5:17-20; John 10:34-35). These two messages are always relevant during troubled times, times when people, whether ancient or modern, need anchors or moorings for lives adrift.

As to this vision’s fulfillment, the preterist view considers the venting of God’s anger against the “land of the north” (6:8) as having been fulfilled in the Persian conquest of Babylonia and the subsequent overthrow of Persia by Alexander the Great and the Greeks. The futurist approach to the vision equates the judgment against the “land of the north” (6:8) with the overthrow of the nations by the Messiah prior to the establishment of his millennial rule upon earth (cf. Rev 19–20).