Zechariah

Part One: Introduction to Zechariah

The Prophet

Zechariah, whose name means "the LORD remembers," was "the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet" (1:1). Ezra calls him "the son of Iddo" (Ezra 5:1; 6:14), using the name of his better-known grandfather. Iddo was the head of one of the priestly families that returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, and Zechariah later became head of that family (Nehemiah 12:4, 16). So Zechariah was both a priest and a prophet. He was young when he began (an angel calls him "this young man," 2:4). He started prophesying in the eighth month of the second year of Darius (520 BC), just two months after Haggai, and together they encouraged the returned exiles to finish rebuilding the temple (Ezra 5:1-2; 6:14).

Date and Composition

Chapters 1-8 are dated between 520 and 518 BC (1:1, 7; 7:1). Chapters 9-14 are undated and may come from later in Zechariah's ministry, perhaps after 480 BC; they mention the rise of Greece (9:13). Some critics divide the book between different authors, but Jewish and Christian tradition, and the New Testament's use of the whole book, treat it as one prophet's work.

The Most Messianic of the Minor Prophets

Zechariah is the longest of the Minor Prophets and contains more prophecies of the Messiah than any of them. It foretells His humble entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, His betrayal for thirty pieces of silver, His being pierced, His being smitten as the Shepherd while the sheep scatter, the fountain opened for sin, and His return to the Mount of Olives to reign as King over all the earth. The Gospel writers quote Zechariah repeatedly in describing the last week of Jesus' life. Because of its visions and its focus on the end times, it has been called "the Apocalypse of the Old Testament," and Revelation draws on it frequently.

Purpose and Theme

Zechariah encouraged a small, discouraged community to complete the temple by showing them God's great purposes for Jerusalem and the world. God remembered His people; He had returned to Jerusalem with mercy; He would cleanse them, defeat their enemies, send their King, and one day reign over all the earth. The book calls for repentance (1:3), justice and mercy (7:9-10; 8:16-17), and confidence in God's Spirit rather than human power (4:6).

Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 1:3

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 4:6

And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Zechariah 14:9

The Eight Night Visions

In one night, on the 24th day of the eleventh month of 520 BC (1:7), Zechariah saw eight visions, each explained by an angel:

Outline of Zechariah

Part Two: Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis

Section I: Call to Repentance (Chapter 1:1-6)

Chapter 1:1-6 — Turn Ye unto Me

"The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers" (1:2).

Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 1:3

"Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried... but they did not hear" (1:4). Their fathers were gone, and so were the prophets, but God's words had overtaken them exactly as He had said (1:5-6). God's word outlasts both those who speak it and those who reject it. Repentance is the foundation of everything that follows (James 4:8).

Section II: The Eight Night Visions (Chapters 1:7-6:8)

Vision 1: The Horseman Among the Myrtles (1:7-17)

Zechariah saw "a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom" (a shady valley), with red, speckled and white horses behind him (1:8). They had patrolled the earth and reported, "behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest" (1:11): the nations were at ease while Jerusalem lay in ruins. Then "the angel of the LORD" interceded:

O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?

Zechariah 1:12

"The angel of the LORD" in the Old Testament is often identified with God Himself (Genesis 16:7-13; Exodus 3:2-6), and many see Him as the pre-incarnate Christ, here interceding for His people as He does in heaven now (Hebrews 7:25). The LORD answered "with good words and comfortable words" (1:13): "I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease" (1:14-15). "I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it... My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem" (1:16-17).

Vision 2: Four Horns and Four Carpenters (1:18-21)

Zechariah saw four horns, "the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem" (1:19). Horns symbolise power; these were the nations that had crushed God's people (compare Daniel 7-8). Then he saw four carpenters (craftsmen or smiths), who came "to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles" (1:21). For every power that rises against God's people, God has an instrument to bring it down.

Vision 3: The Measuring Line (2:1-13)

A man with a measuring line went to measure Jerusalem (2:1-2). But an angel said Jerusalem would be "inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein" (2:4): it would be too large for walls.

For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.

Zechariah 2:5

God Himself would be their protection and their glory. He called the exiles still in Babylon to flee and return (2:6-7), "for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye" (2:8): to harm God's people is to strike at the pupil of His eye. Then the speaker says, "ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me" (2:9, 11): the LORD sends the LORD, a hint of the distinct persons of the Godhead.

Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people

Zechariah 2:10-11

God would come to dwell among His people, and the nations would join them. This was fulfilled in part when Christ came and "dwelt among us" (John 1:14) and the Gentiles were brought into God's people, and will be fully fulfilled when "the tabernacle of God is with men" (Revelation 21:3). "Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation" (2:13).

Vision 4: Joshua the High Priest Cleansed (3:1-10)

This is one of the clearest pictures of salvation in the Old Testament.

And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

Zechariah 3:1-2

Joshua represented the whole nation before God. Satan, "the accuser of our brethren" (Revelation 12:10), stood ready to accuse. The LORD did not deny Joshua's guilt; He rebuked Satan on the basis of His own choice and grace: Joshua was "a brand plucked out of the fire," rescued from the judgment of exile (Amos 4:11; Jude 9, 23).

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

Zechariah 3:3-4

The high priest's garments, which should have been pure, were filthy with sin (Isaiah 64:6). God removed them, took away his iniquity, and clothed him in clean, festive robes and a clean turban (3:5). This is justification: God takes away our sin and clothes us in His righteousness (Isaiah 61:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:33-34). Joshua did nothing but stand there; God did it all.

God then charged Joshua to walk in His ways (3:6-7), and promised: "behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH" (3:8), the Messiah from David's line (Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5). "For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes... and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day" (3:9). The stone points to Christ, the chief cornerstone (Psalm 118:22; 1 Peter 2:6); Revelation shows the Lamb "having seven horns and seven eyes" (Revelation 5:6). And sin would be removed "in one day," fulfilled at the cross, where Christ "offered one sacrifice for sins for ever" (Hebrews 10:12-14). The result: peace and security, "every man under the vine and under the fig tree" (3:10).

Vision 5: The Golden Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees (4:1-14)

Zechariah saw a golden lampstand with a bowl on top, seven lamps, and seven pipes to each lamp, with two olive trees beside it supplying oil directly (4:2-3, 12). The lamp burned without any human effort to refill it. The angel explained:

This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 4:6

God's work is accomplished not by human strength, armies or resources, but by His Holy Spirit, symbolised by the oil. "Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it" (4:7). Mountains of opposition would be levelled, and the final stone of the temple would be set in place amid shouts of "Grace!"

The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it... For who hath despised the day of small things?

Zechariah 4:9-10

The temple was indeed completed in 515 BC (Ezra 6:15). God's work may begin small, but it must not be despised. The two olive trees are "the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth" (4:14), probably Joshua the priest and Zerubbabel the governor. Revelation uses this imagery for the two witnesses (Revelation 11:3-4).

Vision 6: The Flying Scroll (5:1-4)

Zechariah saw a flying scroll twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide (about 30 by 15 feet, the size of the porch of Solomon's temple). "This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth" (5:3) against those who steal and those who swear falsely, sins against neighbour and against God. It would enter their houses and consume them (5:4). God's law cannot be escaped; restoration of the temple required the removal of sin from the people.

Vision 7: The Woman in the Ephah (5:5-11)

An ephah (a measuring basket for grain) appeared, with a lead cover. Inside sat a woman: "This is wickedness" (5:7-8). The angel thrust her back in and shut the lid. Two women with wings like a stork carried the basket away "to build it an house in the land of Shinar" (5:9-11), that is, Babylon. Sin, perhaps especially commercial dishonesty and idolatry, would be removed from God's land and taken back to its proper home in Babylon, the centre of rebellion since the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:2). Revelation shows the final judgment of "Babylon the great" (Revelation 17-18).

Vision 8: The Four Chariots (6:1-8)

Four chariots with red, black, white and grisled (dappled) horses came out from between two mountains of brass (bronze) (6:1-3). They were "the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth" (6:5), sent through the whole earth. Those that went north "have quieted my spirit in the north country" (6:8), meaning God's judgment on Babylon was accomplished. The visions began with horsemen reporting that the earth was at rest while Jerusalem suffered (1:11); they end with God's chariots going out in sovereign judgment over all the earth. Compare the four horsemen of Revelation 6:1-8.

Section III: The Crowning of Joshua (Chapter 6:9-15)

God told Zechariah to collect silver and gold from returned exiles, make crowns, "and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest" (6:11). This was remarkable: priests did not wear royal crowns. It was a prophetic sign:

Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

Zechariah 6:12-13

In Israel the offices of king (from Judah) and priest (from Levi) were always kept separate; King Uzziah was struck with leprosy for trying to burn incense (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). But the coming BRANCH would be both King and Priest, uniting the two offices in perfect harmony ("the counsel of peace shall be between them both"). Joshua's name is the Hebrew form of Jesus. Jesus Christ is "a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek," the king-priest (Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:1-3), seated as High Priest "on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (Hebrews 8:1). He builds the true temple, His church (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 2:20-22). "And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD" (6:15): Gentiles would share in building God's house (Ephesians 2:13).

Section IV: Fasting and Feasting (Chapters 7-8)

Chapter 7 — Empty Fasting and True Religion

In the fourth year of Darius (518 BC), a delegation from Bethel asked the priests and prophets whether they should continue fasting in the fifth month, as they had for seventy years, mourning the destruction of the temple (7:1-3). God's answer probed their hearts:

When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

Zechariah 7:5-6

Their fasting had been about themselves, not God. What God had always wanted, the former prophets had preached:

Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

Zechariah 7:9-10

But their fathers "refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears... Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone" (7:11-12). Therefore God scattered them "with a whirlwind among all the nations" (7:14). Ritual without righteousness had brought the exile; the returned community must not repeat it.

Chapter 8 — Jerusalem's Future Joy

In ten promises, each beginning "Thus saith the LORD of hosts," God described Jerusalem's coming restoration:

• "I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy" (8:2).
• "I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain" (8:3).
• "There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem... And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof" (8:4-5): a picture of peace and security for every generation.
• "If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes?" (8:6). Nothing is too hard for God.
• He would gather His people from east and west, "and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness" (8:7-8).
• "Let your hands be strong" (8:9, 13). God would reverse their fortunes: "as ye were a curse among the heathen... so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing" (8:13).
• "These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates" (8:16; Ephesians 4:25).
• The four fasts commemorating Jerusalem's fall, in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months (the breach of the wall, the burning of the temple, the murder of Gedaliah, and the beginning of the siege), "shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace" (8:19).
• Many peoples and strong nations would come to seek the LORD in Jerusalem (8:20-22).

In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

Zechariah 8:23

The nations would be drawn to God through His people. Through the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, and His Jewish apostles, the gospel went out to every nation (Acts 1:8; John 4:22: "salvation is of the Jews").

Section V: The First Burden — The Rejected Shepherd-King (Chapters 9-11)

Chapter 9 — The Coming King

Judgment on the nations around Israel (9:1-8). "The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus" (9:1). The oracle moves south through Hamath, Tyre and Sidon, then to the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and Ashdod (9:1-7). This exactly traces the route of Alexander the Great's conquest in 332 BC, when he took Damascus and Sidon, besieged and destroyed the island city of Tyre (9:3-4), and captured Gaza. Yet God promised, "I will encamp about mine house because of the army" (9:8), and Alexander passed by Jerusalem without destroying it. (The Jewish historian Josephus records a tradition that Alexander honoured the city.) Even the Philistines would have a remnant that belonged to God (9:7).

The King on a donkey (9:9-10). In stark contrast to the proud conqueror on his war horse comes another King:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Zechariah 9:9

This King is righteous, brings salvation, and is humble, riding not a war horse but a donkey, an animal of peace (compare Genesis 49:10-11, where the ruler from Judah binds his donkey's colt to the vine). Five centuries later Jesus deliberately fulfilled this prophecy, sending His disciples for a donkey and its colt and riding into Jerusalem as the crowds cried "Hosanna to the son of David" (Matthew 21:1-11; John 12:12-16). "He shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth" (9:10; Psalm 72:8).

Prisoners of hope (9:11-17). "As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water" (9:11). God's covenant, sealed in blood, frees His captives; the blood of the new covenant was shed by Christ (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 13:20).

Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee

Zechariah 9:12

God's people are not hopeless prisoners but "prisoners of hope." He would raise up the sons of Zion "against thy sons, O Greece" (9:13), fulfilled in the Maccabean victories over the Greek Seleucid rulers in the second century BC. The LORD would appear over His people and defend them (9:14-15). "For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!" (9:17).

Chapter 10 — The LORD Cares for His Flock

"Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain" (10:1): ask God, not idols, for blessing. The idols and diviners had led the people astray, "therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd" (10:2; compare Matthew 9:36). God's anger was against the false shepherds; He would care for His flock and make Judah "as his goodly horse in the battle" (10:3).

Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.

Zechariah 10:4

From Judah would come leaders, and ultimately the Messiah: the cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16; Ephesians 2:20), the nail or tent peg on which everything hangs secure (Isaiah 22:23), and the battle bow, the conqueror. ("Oppressor" here means ruler.) God would strengthen Judah and save Joseph (the northern tribes), "for I have mercy upon them" (10:6). "I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them" (10:8). He would sow them among the nations, and they would remember Him in far countries and return (10:9), brought back from Egypt and Assyria (10:10), passing through the sea of affliction as at the Exodus (10:11). "And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name" (10:12).

Chapter 11 — The Rejected Shepherd

This chapter is one of the most dramatic in the prophets. "Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars" (11:1): a lament over coming devastation and the shepherds who would wail (11:1-3).

God told Zechariah to act out the role of a shepherd: "Feed the flock of the slaughter" (11:4). The flock was being exploited by owners who killed them without guilt and sellers who said, "Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich" (11:5). Zechariah took two staffs, which he named "Beauty" (Favour or Grace) and "Bands" (Union), and fed the flock (11:7). "Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me" (11:8): the leaders rejected the shepherd, and he rejected them. He broke the staff Beauty, signifying the end of God's covenant of protection (11:10). The poor of the flock, who were watching, "knew that it was the word of the LORD" (11:11).

Then the shepherd asked for his wages:

And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

Zechariah 11:12-13

Thirty pieces of silver was the price of a slave gored by an ox (Exodus 21:32), an insult. God sarcastically called it "a goodly price that I was prised at of them": the people's valuation of the shepherd was their valuation of God Himself. The fulfillment in the New Testament is precise: Judas agreed to betray Jesus for "thirty pieces of silver" (Matthew 26:15); in remorse he "cast down the pieces of silver in the temple," and the priests used the money to buy "the potter's field" (Matthew 27:3-10). Matthew attributes the prophecy to "Jeremy the prophet," probably because he combines Zechariah's words with Jeremiah's prophecies about the potter and the purchase of a field (Jeremiah 18-19; 32:6-9), naming the more prominent prophet, as was common practice (compare Mark 1:2-3, which combines Malachi and Isaiah under Isaiah's name).

Zechariah then broke the second staff, Bands, "that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel" (11:14): the nation would be torn by internal division, as it was in the bitter factional fighting during the Roman siege of AD 70. Finally God told him to take the equipment of "a foolish shepherd" (11:15), representing a worthless shepherd who would not care for the flock but devour it (11:16). "Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock!" (11:17). Having rejected the Good Shepherd, Israel would receive a false one. Jesus said, "I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive" (John 5:43). Many see here a picture of the coming Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

Section VI: The Second Burden — The Reigning King (Chapters 12-14)

Chapter 12 — Jerusalem Delivered; the Pierced One Mourned

"The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him" (12:1). The Creator Himself makes the promise. "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about... And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it" (12:2-3). The nations would gather against Jerusalem, but God would strike their horses with blindness and their riders with madness (12:4), make Judah's leaders like a fire among wood (12:6), and defend Jerusalem, so that "he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them" (12:8). "I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (12:9). Then comes one of the most remarkable verses in the Old Testament:

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Zechariah 12:10

The LORD Himself is speaking: "they shall look upon me whom they have pierced." Yet in the next phrase they mourn "for him." The One who is pierced is God, yet distinct; this points to the incarnation and the crucifixion of the Son of God. When the soldier pierced Jesus' side, John wrote, "And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced" (John 19:37). Revelation applies it to His return: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him" (Revelation 1:7). The verse foretells a future national repentance of Israel, when God pours out a spirit of grace and they recognise their Messiah (Romans 11:26-27).

The mourning would be as great as "the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon" (12:11), the nation's grief at the death of godly King Josiah at Megiddo (2 Chronicles 35:22-25). Every family would mourn apart, each person in personal repentance, from the royal house of David and Nathan to the priestly house of Levi and Shimei (12:12-14).

Chapter 13 — The Fountain and the Smitten Shepherd

In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

Zechariah 13:1

After the mourning comes cleansing. The fountain flows from the One who was pierced. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7); He "loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Revelation 1:5). The hymn "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood" draws on this verse.

God would remove idols and false prophets from the land (13:2). False prophecy would be so shameful that parents would condemn their own children who prophesied lies (13:3; Deuteronomy 13:6-9), and false prophets would deny their calling: "I am no prophet, I am an husbandman" (13:4-5). "And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends" (13:6). In context this refers to the false prophet's wounds, perhaps self-inflicted in pagan rituals (1 Kings 18:28), or received in discipline. Many Christians have applied the words to Christ's wounds, though the context points primarily to the false prophet. The next verse, however, clearly speaks of the true Shepherd:

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

Zechariah 13:7

God calls the Shepherd "the man that is my fellow," His equal, His companion. It is God Himself who commands the sword to strike Him: Christ was "smitten of God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:4, 10). On the night of His arrest, Jesus quoted this verse: "All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad" (Matthew 26:31). And "all the disciples forsook him, and fled" (Matthew 26:56).

Two thirds of the land would be cut off, but the third part would be refined like silver and tested like gold: "they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God" (13:8-9; compare 1 Peter 1:7; Hosea 2:23).

Chapter 14 — The Day of the LORD and the King over All the Earth

The book closes with a vision of the final Day of the LORD. All nations gather against Jerusalem; the city is taken and half its people go into captivity (14:1-2). Then:

Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley

Zechariah 14:3-4

The LORD Himself, with feet, stands on the Mount of Olives. When Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives, angels said, "this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11-12). The mountain will split, and the people will flee through the new valley as they fled from the earthquake in Uzziah's days (14:5; Amos 1:1). "And the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee" (14:5): Christ returns with His saints (1 Thessalonians 3:13; Jude 14; Revelation 19:14).

That day will be unique, neither clearly day nor night, "but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light" (14:6-7; Revelation 21:25; 22:5). "Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be" (14:8; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Revelation 22:1).

And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Zechariah 14:9

The confession of Israel, "The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4), will be acknowledged by the whole world. "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15). The land will be levelled and Jerusalem lifted up and "safely inhabited" (14:10-11). The armies that fought against Jerusalem will be struck by a terrible plague: their flesh, eyes and tongues consumed while they stand (14:12), panic among them (14:13), and their wealth gathered (14:14).

Then "every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles" (14:16). Nations that refuse will receive no rain (14:17-19). Everything will be holy: "In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD" (14:20), the very inscription once worn only on the high priest's turban (Exodus 28:36). Even ordinary cooking pots in Jerusalem will be holy (14:21). "And in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite [trader] in the house of the LORD of hosts" (14:21): no more profiteering in God's house, as Jesus demanded when He drove out the traders: "make not my Father's house an house of merchandise" (John 2:16).

Part Three: Christ in Zechariah

The Life of Christ in Zechariah

Zechariah foretells the Messiah's person and work in remarkable detail, especially the events of His final week:

The Deity of the Messiah in Zechariah

Zechariah repeatedly hints that the coming One is God Himself:

• "The LORD of hosts hath sent me" (2:9, 11): the LORD sent by the LORD.
• "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced... and they shall mourn for him" (12:10): God speaks of Himself as pierced.
• "The man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts" (13:7): the Shepherd is God's equal.
• "His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives... and the LORD my God shall come" (14:4-5): the LORD comes in bodily form.

These verses find their explanation in the incarnation: the Word who was God "was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14).

The King-Priest

Zechariah 6:12-13 unites the offices of king and priest in the BRANCH. Jesus is both: the Son of David who reigns (Luke 1:32-33) and the High Priest who offered Himself and intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:24-27). He is "a priest upon his throne."

Part Four: Fulfilled Prophecies

Prophecies still awaiting fulfillment include Israel's national repentance (12:10-14), the cleansing of the land (13:1-2), the gathering of the nations against Jerusalem, the LORD's return to the Mount of Olives, the living waters, and His reign as King over all the earth (14).

Part Five: Key Passages in Depth

Zechariah 1:3 — Turn and He Will Turn

Restoration begins with returning to God. When His people turn to Him, He turns to them. "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you" (James 4:8).

Zechariah 3:1-5 — Clean Garments

Joshua stood accused and dirty before a holy God, and Satan was ready to condemn him. God silenced the accuser, removed the filthy garments, and clothed Joshua in clean ones. This is the gospel: "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth" (Romans 8:33).

Zechariah 4:6-10 — Not by Might, nor by Power

God's work is done by God's Spirit, not by human resources. Mountains of difficulty become plains. Small beginnings must not be despised. The headstone will be set with cries of "Grace, grace," because the whole work is by God's grace.

Zechariah 7:5-10 — Religion That Pleases God

God asked whether their fasting had really been for Him. Religious rituals can become self-centred. What God wants is justice, mercy, compassion, care for the vulnerable and a heart free of evil intentions toward others (Micah 6:8; James 1:27).

Zechariah 9:9 — The Humble King

The King comes riding not on a war horse but on a donkey: righteous, saving, humble. Jesus deliberately fulfilled this to show what kind of King He is (Matthew 11:29; Philippians 2:5-8). He came first in humility; He will come again in glory.

Zechariah 11:12-13 — Thirty Pieces of Silver

The price the leaders placed on the Shepherd revealed their contempt for God Himself. The detailed fulfillment in Judas' betrayal shows the precision of prophecy and the depth of Christ's humiliation.

Zechariah 12:10 — Looking on the Pierced One

True repentance comes when God pours out a spirit of grace and people see the One they pierced. Every believer has experienced this in some measure: recognising that our sins pierced Christ, and mourning, then finding cleansing in the fountain He opened (13:1).

Zechariah 13:7 — The Smitten Shepherd

God Himself struck the Shepherd who is His equal. The cross was not an accident but God's plan (Acts 2:23; Isaiah 53:10). The Shepherd was struck so the sheep could be saved, even though they scattered.

Zechariah 14:4, 9 — The Return of the King

History will end with the LORD standing on the Mount of Olives and reigning as King over all the earth. This is the blessed hope of the church (Titus 2:13; Acts 1:11).

Part Six: The Major Teachings of Zechariah

1. God Remembers His People

He is jealous for Jerusalem and returns to it with mercy (1:14-17; 8:2-3).

2. Repentance Is the Path to Restoration

"Turn ye unto me... and I will turn unto you" (1:3).

3. God Protects His People

He is a wall of fire around them; whoever touches them touches the apple of His eye (2:5, 8).

4. God Cleanses and Justifies the Guilty

He removes filthy garments and takes away iniquity (3:4, 9).

5. God's Work Is Done by His Spirit

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit" (4:6).

6. True Religion Is Justice and Mercy

God wants obedience, compassion and truth, not empty ritual (7:5-10; 8:16-17).

7. The Nations Will Seek the LORD

Many nations will join themselves to Him (2:11; 8:20-23; 14:16).

8. The Messiah Is King, Priest and Shepherd

The BRANCH, the humble King, the rejected and smitten Shepherd, and the pierced One (3:8; 6:12-13; 9:9; 11-13).

9. The Messiah Is Divine

The pierced One and the Shepherd are identified with God Himself (12:10; 13:7; 14:4).

10. Israel's Future Repentance and Cleansing

God will pour out a spirit of grace and open a fountain for sin (12:10-13:1).

11. The Day of the LORD and the Reign of Christ

The LORD will return, defeat the nations, and reign as King over all the earth (14).

12. Holiness Will Fill Everything

"HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD" will be on the most ordinary things (14:20-21).

Part Seven: Connections — How Zechariah Links to the Rest of the Bible

Zechariah in the New Testament

Zechariah in the Old Testament

Themes That Run from Zechariah Through Scripture

Part Eight: Practical Lessons

• Turn to God, and He will turn to you (1:3).
• Learn from the past; don't repeat your fathers' sins (1:4-6).
• God sees when the world is at ease and His people suffer (1:11-15).
• God is your wall of fire and your glory (2:5).
• You are the apple of God's eye (2:8).
• Be silent before the LORD (2:13).
• Trust God to silence your accuser (3:1-2).
• Rejoice in the clean garments God gives (3:4).
• Do God's work by His Spirit, not your own strength (4:6).
• Don't despise the day of small things (4:10).
• Examine whether your religion is for God or for yourself (7:5-6).
• Show justice, mercy and compassion (7:9-10).
• Let your hands be strong (8:9, 13).
• Speak the truth and love peace (8:16, 19).
• Welcome the humble King (9:9).
• Be a prisoner of hope (9:12).
• Don't put a low price on Christ (11:12-13).
• Look on the One you pierced, and mourn for sin (12:10).
• Wash in the fountain opened for sin (13:1).
• Live in hope of the King's return (14:4, 9).
• Let "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD" mark even the ordinary things of life (14:20-21).

Part Nine: Key Verses to Memorize

Conclusion

Zechariah, a young priest and prophet whose name means "the LORD remembers," encouraged the small band of returned exiles to finish God's house by lifting their eyes to God's great purposes. In eight night visions he saw that God had returned to Jerusalem with mercy, would be a wall of fire around it, would remove His people's filthy garments and their sin in one day, and would complete His work "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit." He saw the high priest Joshua crowned as a sign of the BRANCH who would be both King and Priest. He called the people to true religion of justice and mercy, and promised that their fasts would become feasts and the nations would seek the LORD with them. Then his prophecy turned to the Messiah: the humble King riding on a donkey, the Good Shepherd valued at thirty pieces of silver, the pierced One on whom Israel will one day look and mourn, the fountain opened for sin, the smitten Shepherd who is God's own fellow, and finally the LORD whose feet will stand on the Mount of Olives as He comes with all His saints to be King over all the earth. Every one of these was fulfilled, or will be fulfilled, in Jesus Christ.

And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Zechariah 14:9