Teacher: Pastor Chet Lowe
Main Scriptures: Zechariah 1, Isaiah 42, 2 Chronicles 36
- The New Testament quotes Zechariah over 40 times
- This prophecy is a word from the Spirit for the Jewish nation (2 Peter 1:21 ESV)
- The church does not replace the Jewish nation—His covenant with Israel is forever
- This prophecy is a word from the Spirit for the Jewish nation (2 Peter 1:21 ESV)
- The book is broken into 4 sections
- Return to Me (Zechariah 1:1-1:6)
- Be encouraged by Me (Zechariah 1:7-6)
- Celebrate because of Me (Zechariah 7-8)
- Rule the world with Me (Zechariah 9-14)
- Zechariah records prophecy about the Messiah, the apocalypse and the Second Coming
- Zechariah 1:1-3
- The people had rebelled against God’s word and rejected God’s prophets (2 Chronicles 36:14-16)
- Context for the book
- Pre-Exile
- The people of Israel wanted a king
- Saul > David > Solomon > Rehoboam and Jeroboam
- The kingdom divides
- Jeroboam leads the Northern Kingdom
- Kingdom of Israel (AKA Ephraim which was the largest tribe)
- Composed of 10 tribes
- Was taken over by the Assyrians
- Kingdom of Israel (AKA Ephraim which was the largest tribe)
- Rehoboam leads the Southern Kingdom
- Kingdom of Judah (Which was the largest tribe in the south)
- Composed of 2 tribes
- Was taken over by the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar
- Kingdom of Judah (Which was the largest tribe in the south)
- Jeroboam leads the Northern Kingdom
- The people of Israel wanted a king
- Mid-Exile
- Assyrian captivity of northern kingdom
- Babylonian captivity of southern kingdom
- Babylonians fall to Persians and Cyrus makes decree to return to Israel
- Timeline
- 606 BC 1st Captivity (Daniel’s captivity)-Luke 21:24
- 597 BC 2nd Captivity
- 586 BC Temple destroyed
- God spoke Isaiah 40:1 and 43:1-3 to this people
- 539 BC Babylon falls to Cyrus
- Cyrus is introduced in Isaiah 41:2-4, 25; 44:24-45:5; 45:9-13
- This was written 150 years before Cyrus was born (Ezra 1:1-3)
- Cyrus is introduced in Isaiah 41:2-4, 25; 44:24-45:5; 45:9-13
- Post-Exile
- 1st Wave: Zerubbabel returns to rebuild the temple at Cyrus’ decree (46,000 Jews came with him)
- Zechariah is a part of this wave
- His prophecy was written during this time
- 2nd Wave: Ezra returns to reestablish worship
- 3rd Wave: Nehemiah returns to rebuild the wall
- Then there were 400 years of silence until God speaks to Zechariah the priest in the Gospels
- 1st Wave: Zerubbabel returns to rebuild the temple at Cyrus’ decree (46,000 Jews came with him)
- Pre-Exile
- v. 1
- Zechariah’s name has meaning and promises the Messiah’s coming
- Zechariah means “The Lord remembers”
- Berechiah means “To bless”
- Iddo means “At the appointed time”
- He started his ministry when was a teenager (Zechariah 2:3-4)
- His ministry was to communicate God’s word to the Jewish nation
- He was a prophet, a priest (Nehemiah 12:1, 16) and a “type” of Christ
- He was murdered in the temple for his ministry (Matthew 23:35)
- He was a part of the first wave
- The first wave was responsible for completing the altar and laying a foundation. This happened in two years
- The work was stopped for 16 years by the Samaritans who wrote a letter to the new king—not Cyrus (Ezra 4)
- The Jews built their own houses when they stopped work on God’s house
- God raised up Haggai to exhort them to continue work on God’s temple
- Two months after this exhortation, Zechariah begins his work of encouragement about the future of the nation
- God raised up Haggai to exhort them to continue work on God’s temple
- The Jews built their own houses when they stopped work on God’s house
- The work was stopped for 16 years by the Samaritans who wrote a letter to the new king—not Cyrus (Ezra 4)
- The first wave was responsible for completing the altar and laying a foundation. This happened in two years
- He was a prophet, a priest (Nehemiah 12:1, 16) and a “type” of Christ
- Zechariah’s name has meaning and promises the Messiah’s coming
- v. 2-3
- His message from God was “Return to me and I will return to you”
- God wants relationship with us and calls us to draw near Him (James 4:8)
- The people responded to Haggai’s exhortation and started the work again
- The Samaritans were upset again and went to King Darius to get the Jews to stop building
- King Darius found Cyrus’ decree, allowed the Jews to start building again and required the Samaritans to pay for the work (Ezra 4-6)
- The Samaritans were upset again and went to King Darius to get the Jews to stop building
- The people responded to Haggai’s exhortation and started the work again
- God wants relationship with us and calls us to draw near Him (James 4:8)
- Messengers of repentance must count the cost of preaching the Gospel and depend on the Spirit
- Zechariah was murdered
- Jesus was crucified
- The disciples were martyred
- His message from God was “Return to me and I will return to you”