Key word: Lord of Hosts (45x)
Zechariah prophesied at about the same time as Haggai, for the same purposes – to draw the Jews back to the Lord and have them finish the construction of the temple. Haggai preached two messages in the 6th and 7th month, then Zechariah gave his first message in the 8th month, followed by two more prophecies by Haggai in the 9th month. Haggai now steps into the background and Zechariah picks up in the 11th month and continues off and on for two years. In order to encourage them, the prophet has the people look in 4 directions.
1) Backward (1:1-6). He reminds them of their fathers and their great need to “return” to the Lord (1:3).
2) Upward (1:7-2:13). Three months later he gives a series of 8 visions, all on the same day, to detail what the Lord was doing for them now. The desired response is a holy silence (2:13).
3) Inward (3:1-4:10). We are given a beautiful vision of how the Lord removes our iniquity and replaces it with His righteousness (3:2-4). This can only be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit (4:6) – our key verse.
4) Forward (7-14). Two years later Zechariah returns. The temple is about half finished and again the people need encouragement. The prophet does this by giving prophecies concerning the future. The big picture is that one day their Messiah will come and they need to be prepared for Him.
In chapters 9-11, Zechariah mostly foretells more immediate events but the Triumphal Entry is prophesied in 9:9. Beginning with Chapter 12 and continuing to the end, the theme is the coming of Christ. The first readers could not grasp this, for Zechariah gives one of the most extensive descriptions of the second coming of Christ found in the Bible. Four great events:
1) War against Israel (12:1-9);
2) Repentance (12:10); leading to forgiveness (13:1);
3) The return of Christ (14:4);
4) The coming of Christ’s kingdom on earth (14:8-21).
Key verse: Zechariah 4:6 – “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of hosts.
