Zechariah: Grace and Forgiveness
Zechariah: Grace and Forgiveness (preached by Peter Mitchell - Licensed Lay Minister at All Saints, Denmead)
What do we know about Zechariah? His name means ‘Remembering or Remembered by the Lord’. And this was a very common name in Israel, there are in fact 30 Zechariahs mentioned in the Bible but, apart from him being descended from a priestly family, we know very little about this Zechariah's background.
We do know that Zechariah returned to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon along with Haggai, for this is chronicled in the book of Ezra, and Zechariah’s career as a prophet, dating from 520BC, mostly overlaps and follows-on from that of Haggai, and the themes of the people being called to return to God, to put God at the centre of their lives and to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem continued.
But this book is written in a very different style to that of Haggai, and indeed to that of most of the bible. For Zechariah uses apocalyptic writing; ‘apocalypse’ coming from a Greek word meaning ‘revelation’, in this case the opening up to view of the true nature of God and his plans for his people. And apocalyptic writing does this using visions and imagery, often wild, exotic and weird; difficult for us to understand today. So, the book of Zechariah, like parts of Ezekiel and Daniel and most of the book of Revelation in the New Testament, is best read alongside a bible commentary, which can help to explain to our modern-day minds what the ancient imagery meant originally, and what it might mean for us today.
But why employ such a complex and bizarre writing style? Well, some of the books of the bible were written during periods when God's people were living under the rule of a foreign power. At these times, God’s word was often passed on to his people hidden in code. Symbolism was used to disguise God's message. After all, if the message included the news that God was going to destroy the current governors of God's people and raise up a new king for them, anybody passing on that news openly would very soon be arrested.
The book of Zechariah falls into three sections. In the first part, the prophet gives an account of eight apocalyptic visions, all received by him during the night of 15 February 519BC; what a night that must have been! These are visions rather than dreams because Zechariah was awake at the time; he did nod off after the fourth vision, but was awoken by an angel in time to see the fifth vision. This angel acts as Zechariah’s guide throughout the eight visions.
In the first vision a horseman rides through a ravine of myrtle trees, followed by some different-coloured horses. This horseman is the ‘Angel of the Lord’, this is a different angel to the one who is Zechariah's guide, and the horses represent more angels working throughout the nations of the world; they have discovered that the foreign powers have mistaken God’s punishment of his wayward people for what they presume is a weak God’s inability to lead his people to victory.
God’s welcome message to his people however is that he is far greater and more powerful than he is rumoured to be. He is described as a jealous God, which is Old Testament terminology for a God who has a deep love and concern for his people, and he will return to Jerusalem with mercy, his temple will be rebuilt, and his people will be forgiven, will prosper and will return to him.
In the second vision, Zechariah sees four ox horns, representing the four powers who persecuted and defeated, Israel and Judah; probably Assyria, Egypt, Babylon and Persia. And God declares that he will set four blacksmiths against them, in order to repay them for what they did to Judah and to destroy their power forever.
In the third vision, Zechariah’s angel guide uses a measuring line along the walls of Jerusalem. The angel is met again by the ‘Angel of the Lord’, who tells the angel guide to inform Zechariah that Jerusalem will grow to be too great to be enclosed by human walls, and that God promises that he will be a wall of fire around it, to protect it, and will be its glory within.
The vision speaks of a call to those exiles who have not yet returned from Babylon to make haste, and also speaks about the future church to be founded within the Jewish people by God’s Messiah, who is declared to be coming to live among them.
In the fourth vision, Zechariah sees Satan standing next to the High Priest, Joshua, accusing him of being a failure because the people have given up rebuilding God’s temple, and hinting that he has lost God’s confidence. But the ‘Angel of the Lord’ declares that Joshua, and those like him, are exactly the sort of people God chooses for himself. Joshua needs now to admit his shortcomings, to allow himself to be given fresh clothes, cleansed by God’s grace and mercy, and to recommit himself to God, sharing the good news of God’s salvation with others.
In the fifth vision, Zechariah sees a golden lamp-stand fed with fuel from a vat of olive oil. He also sees an olive tree on either side of the vat, to provide a continuous supply of oil. This vision carries a message for Joshua and the governor, Zerubbabel. As the people of Judah’s efforts at rebuilding the temple had faltered, Joshua and Zerubbabel had worked themselves even harder to try to make up for this, convinced that this project was only likely to be completed through their own efforts; does that sound familiar?
God’s word is that they shall only be able to succeed when they harness the power of his Holy Spirit rather than rely on human strength alone. The olive trees symbolize Joshua and Zerubbabel filled with olive oil, that is, God’s Spirit, and cascading it down to the nation of Judah, in an inexhaustible supply of powerful, energizing fuel.
The sixth vision shows Zechariah a giant flying scroll, 10m by 5m, bearing a list of the curses laid against the people of Judah for all their sins, so numerous that they have to be written on both sides of the scroll, which was not normal practice with scrolls.
In the seventh vision Zechariah sees a basket, large enough to hold a woman. The angel guide explains that this represents the people’s wickedness, brought back with them from Babylon, and sealed-in with a lid of lead. But God’s message is that he graciously forgives his people, and the basket is picked up and carried back to Babylon by two angels in the form of women with stork wings. The stork was admired for its fierce loyalty, and this points to the saving work of God’s promised Messiah. First God brought his people out of Babylon; now he promises to bring Babylon out of his people.
In the final vision, Zechariah sees two bronze mountains. When the Israelites first entered the Promised Land, God commanded six tribes to climb Mount Gerizim to proclaim his blessings if the people obeyed him, and six tribes to climb Mount Ebal to proclaim his curses if the people disobeyed him. Zechariah’s two bronze mountains signify the choice that God has given his people; blessing or curse – you decide!
Different-coloured horses represent the angels of the nations, pulling war chariots; for this is spiritual war, and the angels mark who chooses the path of obedience and blessing and who chooses the path of disobedience and curse, bringing down judgement on all the sinful nations of the world, promising to deal fully with sin, once and for all, so that God’s faithful people may come into the salvation he has prepared for them. But, and it’s a big but, these visions will only come to pass if the people choose not to ignore the prophet’s warnings, as their ancestors did, but to humble themselves and to turn back to God.
The visions close with Joshua, the High Priest, being given a crown. Throughout Israel’s history, there had been a separation of Kingly and High priestly duties and responsibilities, but Zechariah speaks of a future kingdom in which God’s anointed leader of his people will be both the King of Kings and the Great High Priest.
These visions brought new faith and hope to the discouraged remnant of Judah, in Jerusalem, in Zechariah’s time. Moreover, for Christians, they unmistakably have pointed the way to the saving work of the Messiah, to Jesus. And the coming of the Messianic Kingdom was and is conditional upon the people being faithful to God. The people enquired, “Is God’s Kingdom coming soon?” Zechariah replied, “Are you ready to become the sort of people who will accept and engage with God’s Kingdom?” God isn’t concerned about religious detail, but is looking for people who work for justice and truth, with kindness and mercy, and who care for those in need; loving the lost and the least and the lonely.
Zechariah’s final two prophecies consist of poems and images about the future Messianic Kingdom. As quoted by Matthew and John in their gospels, telling the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Zechariah describes the coming of the humble Messianic King into the New Jerusalem, riding on the foal of a donkey, rather than on a warhorse, as the people might have expected. This king will be one quite unlike any other king the people have known; he will transform his people’s lives.
The purpose of the new King’s arrival in Jerusalem, says Zechariah, is to establish God’s Kingdom and peace over the nations. The new King, symbolized as a shepherd, a common metaphor for leaders and kings at that time, and as a cornerstone, tent peg and battle-bow of his people, promises to turn his Jewish followers into bows and arrows and his Gentile followers into a warrior’s sword, making them into an army of missionaries. But the shepherd will be struck, and the sheep scattered; the new king will be rejected, firstly by his own people, and then by the leaders of the people. And God will leave his people in the hands of their corrupt leaders and will wait patiently for them to return to him; blessing or curse – they decide!
Finally, after another period of spiritual warfare, God will part the sides of the Mount of Olives, and his suffering people will be led to safety through the valley, echoing the long-ago Exodus from Egypt following the parting of the Reed Sea, and the New Jerusalem will be the place where God will win his decisive victory over the evil which exists within the sinful nations, including within God’s own people; a foretaste of Jesus’ victory on the cross.
But this is more a conversion than a conquest. Zechariah says that God will pour out his Spirit on his people, so that they may recognize and repent from their disobedience and their rejection of their messianic, shepherd king. Barriers between God and his people will be broken down and the people will have a new advocate and a direct connection with God.
The New Jerusalem then becomes the gathering point for the faithful people of all nations, God’s extended family, and becomes a new Garden of Eden. From the riverless city, a river of living water flows out and brings healing to all of the nations. God is a God of new hearts and new starts. And the metaphor of humble cooking vessels becoming as holy as the sacred vessels used in the temple signifies that, in his Kingdom, everything in everyday life will become pure and acceptable to God.
The book of Zechariah is an interesting, if bizarre, read but, within its crazy imagery, it contains familiar prophetic themes, and it helps us to see how the gospel writers were so convinced that Jesus was fulfilling the role of God’s Messianic King and that God’s Kingdom was for any and all who followed him. And we are reminded that God values not organizational things, as his people do, but relational things; how we treat each other is crucial to our relationship with him and how we respond to his call will determine our future; blessing or curse – we decide!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen