Bible

In the Bible room today, we begin reading the book of Zechariah with Session 1, the summaries of chapters 1 through 3.

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Zechariah

Session 1 of 4

Introduction to Zechariah:

Writer: Zechariah.

Scope: Born in Babylon during the exile of the Jews, Zechariah was a priest and a prophet. He had joined the first group of exiles led by Zerubbabel who had been allowed to return to Jerusalem under the Persian King Cyrus in 538 b.c. for the express purpose of rebuilding the temple. However, that effort was aborted by attacks from Jerusalem’s neighbors, and the group was forced to return to Babylon. Eighteen years later, during the reign of King Darius, Zechariah joins Zerubbabel again to lead the second group of exiles in returning to Jerusalem to complete the work on the temple. Zechariah ministers to his people for many years after the exile ended.

Chapter 1. Return

It is in the second year of the reign of King Darius:

• The Lord speaks to His people through the prophet Zechariah;
• Because of the sins of their fathers, the Lord is very angry;
• Now, if His people will return to serving the Lord,
• He will come back to them;
• Their fathers refused to listen to their prophets;
• Since then, they have all died, their fathers and their prophets;
• But the word of the Lord stayed with them, and they repented;
• They now recognize the results of their long disobedience;
• At night, Zechariah sees an angel and a man on a red horse;
• There were also three other horses: red, sorrel, and white;
• There was another Angel who was the Angel of the Lord;
• The horsemen have been riding over all the earth;
• They report to the Lord that all the earth is at peace;
• The Angel of the Lord asks how long He will punish Judah;
• The Lord has been punishing Judah for seventy years;
• The first angel tells Zechariah to proclaim words from the Lord;
• The Lord loves Jerusalem, and He is angry with all the nations;
• They have been at peace, free of trouble for these seventy years;
• The Lord is going to return, and rebuild His house at Jerusalem;
• The cities of Judah will build again, expand, and prosper;
• Zechariah then sees four horns followed by four craftsmen;
• The angel explains: the four horns are the enemies of Judah;
• They have scattered the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem;
• The craftsmen are warriors, coming to destroy the four horns.

Chapter 2. Apple

The Lord says His people are the apple of His eye:

• The prophet envisions another man, this one is measuring;
• So, he asks him what he is measuring;
• The man answers: he is going to measure Jerusalem;
• Jerusalem is going to be rebuilt like a new city;
• It will be like some of the towns without walls
• There will be many people and much livestock;
• The Lord says He will be a wall of fire around the city;
• And He will be the glory in Jerusalem;
• The Lord says Judah will leave their exile in Babylon;
• He warns the nations who have attacked Judah:
• Do not touch His people: they are the apple of His eye;
• The Lord says He is coming back to His people;
• And many other nations will also join with the Lord;
• Judah will become the Holy Land of the Lord;
• The Lord has chosen Jerusalem as His own.

Chapter 3. Branch

The Lord of hosts says He will bring forth His servant, the Branch:

• The prophet sees the high priest, Joshua, standing;
• He is in front of the angel of the Lord;
• And beside him is Satan, ready to accuse him;
• The Lord rebukes Satan, says He has chosen Jerusalem;
• Standing before the angel, Joshua is wearing dirty clothes;
• A symbol of sin, the Lord gives him a change of clothes;
• The Lord has removed his sin, gives him clean, rich robes;
• And He gives him a clean head covering;
• The Lord speaks to Joshua through the angel of the Lord:
• He tells Joshua to keep the Lord’s command;
• Then he will also be a judge for His people;
• He tells Joshua He will introduce His servant, the Branch;
• Then the Lord places a stone in front of Joshua;
• This stone has seven sides, and the Lord will engrave it;
• He is going to remove all sin from the land in one day;
• And everyone will sit in the shade with their neighbor.

End of Session 1 of 4 of the book of Zechariah.