The Twelve Minor Prophets: Zechariah
Dr. James Smith
Zechariah
13 November 2005
The book of Zechariah is one of the longest of minor prophets and is certainly one of the strangest. It is a very unusual collection of visions and prophetic oracles that make it difficult to get a good grip on.
But we do know that Zechariah the prophet’s ministry is linked with the prophet Haggai in 520 B.C. This was an incredibly important time for God’s people, which included the return of thousands of exiles from their Babylonian exile and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.
At this time, Judah was only a fraction of its former size and by some scholarly estimates, no bigger then Chicagoland. It had gone from around 650,000 people before the Babylonian exile to perhaps under 1000 people at the beginning of the Persian period.
National structures as well as national identity were in the process of being restored during the Persian period.
The Persians did not allow such things to take place simply because they were exceedingly kind and generous. They allowed people to be repatriated to encourage loyalty to the empire as well as to facilitate the collection of revenue in local areas.
This required them to reconstruct provincial institutions that had been destroyed by the Assyrians and the Babylonians as well as backing local leadership.
When we look at the structure of the book of Zechariah we will quickly notice that it can be divided pretty evenly into two distinct parts.
The first part consists of chapters 1-8 which contains 8 visions, while the second part is found in chapters 9-14 and looks like an anthology or collection of different prophetic oracles.
The second portion of Zechariah is very, very different from the first portion, so much so that if it were not bound together with the first part, one might not connect the two sections.
As a matter of fact, some scholars see this second portion of Zechariah as a 3 part collection with Malachi, where Zechariah 9-11 is the first unit, Zechariah 12-14 is the second, while Malachi 1-4 functions as the third.
It may be a collection of material from different times and cannot be dated with certainty.
But despite the “anthology-like” character of 2nd Zechariah as scholars call it, it does offer a broad vision for the future of God’s people; not only a restoration but a kind of utopia.
It is radically theocentric or “God-centered” envisioning a future with God re-ordering the world after it has gone through conflict, suffering and death. And this is why is it quoted in various places in the gospels, particularly the Palm Sunday and passion narratives.
The first portion of Zechariah is unique in that it is part of the apocalyptic genre. Portions of the Book of Daniel as well as the Book of Revelation are notable examples of apocalyptic literature.
As a genre or type of literature, apocalyptic, contains certain “stock items,” such as 1) bizarre imagery, 2) interpreting figures/angels, 3) pessimism, 4) determinism, 5) imminent eschatology, 6) esotericism, 7) prophecy
A failure to understand the stock items of the apocalyptic genre has led to much of the end times teaching/preaching that you will commonly find on cable T.V.
In Zechariah 1-8, we see all kind of bizarre imagery including horsemen, flying scrolls and a wicked woman in a basket carried by women with wings like storks.
In chapter 1, we find an example of an interpreting angel who reveals the meaning of the horsemen as well as the four horns and the four craftsmen.
Pessimism is found in the general treatment of gentile oppressors, while determinism is found in passages that discuss God’s plans that cannot be overturned by human beings.
Imminent eschatology is found when God will immediately return to his people and restore their fortunes and esotericism in these unique 8 visions of Zechariah that require inside information and experience.
Prophecy abounds with Zechariah’s messages that God will indeed restore the lives and fortunes of His people.
Important theological themes that are found in Zechariah 1-8 include reversal. Zechariah declares that God will reverse the relative situations of His people as well as those of the nations surrounding them.
And in this sense, this depends on God returning to Jerusalem and dwelling in His holy temple, which is what the prophet Haggai was so concerned about. God’s favor must rest on His people and the temple will be a physical symbol of God’s favor and presence.
The disobedience of the past is contrasted with the obedience of the present and God’s return to His people encourages and in a sense ensures their moral transformation.
In fact, the opening six verses of Zechariah “crystallizes the entire prophetic drama.” Notice that Zechariah does not accuse the people of anything and makes no threats as had previous prophets.
But rather, the people are reminded that they are part of God’s enduring plan; from the past to the present and that they belong to the ongoing story of God’s judgment and promise.
While God’s disobedient people as well as His prophets who spoke a terrible message of judgment were all gone, God’s words and His expectations do not suffer the same mortality.
It was a new generation of God’s people who did not want to make the same mistakes that their fathers had made. It was a time of excitement and grave uncertainty.
Zechariah was in a unique position as a prophet. He stood in the tradition of the prophets, but no prophet before him had to experience the full weight of the prophetic tradition with all its judgments and then who had to forge a new life in completely different circumstances.
This new generation did not need to be reminded of God’s judgment. They had to work under the weight and the inheritance of the past judgment.
And it is in this situation that the visions of the future in chapter 2 take on incredible significance.
Chapter 2:4 offers the picture of Jerusalem as a city without walls; a city so large that walls could not contain the people or the animals. In the holy city, God would act as a wall of fire around it and be the glory inside of it.
This is an amazing vision because all ancient cities had walls around them for protection and because Jerusalem was still largely without walls and had virtually no population attached to it in Zechariah’s day.
This vision is compounded by 2:11 that the pagan and gentile nations would attach themselves to God and become God’s people as well as the Jews.
The great Protestant reformer, Martin Luther called the inclusion of the gentile nations with God’s people “a miracle second to none.” And such an inclusion is central to Zechariah’s vision or the future.
And surely we as Christians are both witnesses and inheritors of God’s great plan for the salvation of the gentiles as prophesied by Zechariah.
Each of us come from different ethnic backgrounds, places in the world as well as this country, and yet all of us count ourselves as God’s people through faith in Jesus Christ.
Even the prophet Zechariah would have marveled at the extent to which God’s original vision and prophecy has come true.
Indeed the nations have been included in God’s great eschatological plan and the good news is that more people as well as nations are still on their way.
Let’s Pray
