Rise Up And Build

Feature 1 – April 2016 — Grace & Truth Magazine

Rise Up And Build

What do you say to people who once worked energetically for the Lord but now seem more interested in themselves? That was the situation Zechariah the prophet had to face. After years of captivity in Babylon, many Jews returned to Jerusalem through the decree of Cyrus, the Persian ruler. Ezra the scribe recorded how the people set up an altar and laid the foundation for a reconstructed temple (Ezra 3) – an occasion for great joy! Yet when opposition arose, the work ceased. The outward cause seemed to be interference from Persian officials (Ezra 4), but there was a deeper, spiritual obstacle as well. The prophet Haggai revealed that the people were more interested in improving their own houses than in building the house of the L ORD (Hag. 1:9).

Consequently, the people needed to be roused from their spiritual slumber. According to Ezra 5:1 God used the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to do just that. This occasion can be dated historically to the year 520 BC, about 18 years after the temple foundation was laid. When the people responded to God’s word and began to build again, the political opposition dissolved. In a spirit of obedience and cooperation the entire project was completed in about four years.

In order to stir up the people, Haggai exhorted them to consider their ways. By contrast, Zechariah’s message called them to consider God’s plans. Both of those appeals will instruct believers today too, as we seek to keep our priorities in the right perspective.

Zechariah’s prophecy came in several sections: eight visions explained, one question answered and two messages delivered. As an introduction Zechariah noted that the LORD had been calling His people to return to Him (Zech. 1:1-6). Although they had physically returned to the land, they needed to return in heart to the LORD Himself. Their fathers had refused to obey the prophets in their day, and now the LORD appealed to Zechariah’s generation so they would not do the same. To support this appeal, God gave a series of eight visions, which comprise the first six chapters of Zechariah.

The Visions
Zechariah was a young man (Zech. 2:4), and although these visions contain much symbolism, it seems that God took special care to make sure he understood them – a fact which is helpful for readers today too. His first vision presents four horses. One was ridden by the Angel of the LORD (1:11), a term that refers to Christ Himself before His incarnation. The other horses are described as God’s servants who had been assessing the nations. God was insulted that the nations were at rest, for it indicated their self-satisfied attitude – feeling no guilt over their unjust treatment of Israel (1:15). Therefore, the LORD intended to comfort Zion, bringing mercy and prosperity.

In the second vision, four horns of power are revealed, representing four empires against God’s people. These consist of Babylon and Persia as well as the Greek and Roman empires that would arise after Zechariah’s era. Yet God had prepared four carpenters, or craftsmen (1:20), who would spoil the power of those horns.

The first two visions illustrate the perspective of Zechariah’s message: God intended to fill His people with hope. Their failures prevented them from building even a small temple as a testimony for the LORD; but God knew their circumstances. He knew what had been done to His people and He had plans for their blessing and prosperity despite the adversity and weakness they faced.

The third vision continues this theme, presenting a man with a measuring line who had been sent to determine the dimensions of Jerusalem. While its condition at the time might hardly have been considered impressive, the LORD promised that in the future there would be so many people and livestock that they would not be able to live within its walls – the LORD Himself would be their wall of protection (2:1-5). In a tender expression, the people were encouraged to trust His promises because of His love: “he who touches you touches the apple of His eye” (2:8 ESV). Even the nations who now oppose them will one day be joined to the LORD (2:10-13).

The fourth vision pictures Joshua, the high priest in Zechariah’s day (not to be confused with the leader who followed Moses in a previous generation), standing in God’s presence while Satan accused him. In fact, the high priest was worthy to be accused, for he was dressed in filthy garments. However, his acceptance was based not on his worthiness but on God’s grace. The LORD called Joshua “a brand plucked from the fire” (3:2) and dressed him in fine garments. God declared that Joshua was a sign of His coming servant, “the Branch” – the Messiah who would establish righteous, peaceful conditions among the people (3:8-10).

This passage is a high point in Zechariah’s prophecy, proving that God will overcome even the Devil himself to institute the glorious kingdom that His anointed One, the Messiah, is worthy to receive. As Christians, we can be thrilled to know that Christ, who is our Savior, will receive such glory, for under Him God will gather together all things (Eph. 1:10). It is marvelous that Christ will fulfill all of God’s purposes, and no power will hinder Him.

The remaining group of four visions illustrates the extent of Christ’s coming glory. Zerubbabel, the governor of Zechariah’s time, was to be encouraged by the fifth vision, showing a lampstand which was fueled by a never-ending supply of oil from two olive trees. This indicates that God’s work is accomplished “not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” (Zech. 4:6); and Zerubbabel also serves as a figure of the coming Messiah’s reign. The sixth vision portrays a flying scroll that exposed everyone who “swears falsely by My name” (5:4). In the seventh vision, a woman named Wickedness was forced into a basket which was then covered with a heavy lid made of lead. Two stork-like women carried the basket to Shinar, a region representing Babylon (see Daniel 1:2) and alluding to the tower of Babel which godless men had attempted to build long before (Gen. 11:1-9). This affirms that in a future day the land will be cleansed of the moral evil found in the pretenders. Finally the eighth vision, of horses and chariots, shows that God’s hosts are eager to accomplish His will, which they did effectively in the north, the south, and throughout the whole earth, giving rest to God’s Spirit (Zech. 6:5-8).

Knowing God’s future plans will always strengthen our feeble hands to serve Him now. This is indeed what happened in Jerusalem, for the people who heard Zechariah were stirred to rise up and build (Ezra 5:2). Further, God told them to accept a gift of silver and gold from some of the exiles still in Babylon. They used it to make a crown for Joshua as an illustration of the coming glory of God’s Branch, who will establish the temple of the LORD and rule in glory (Zech. 6:9-15). That crowning day in Zechariah’s time must have been a grand event, just as it will be in the future.

A Question
Two years later, while the temple was still being constructed, the people asked Zechariah an interesting question: Should they continue to observe special days of fasting as they had done in the land of Babylon? They specifically mentioned the fast of the fifth month, which had been established during their exile as a way to mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. The LORD also mentioned their fast in the seventh month1 recalling the murder of Gedaliah, who had been made governor over the few Jews still left in the land after the captivity. On one hand, the LORD rebuked the people for these observances because they only expressed sadness over their own troubles and did not experience real repentance. Whether they fasted or feasted, they only were thinking of themselves (7:5-7).

On the other hand, the LORD provided a positive answer by describing the coming glory of Jerusalem: a City of Truth that will be filled with aged men and women, happy boys and girls, and prosperous fields (8:3-13). Days of mourning were of no purpose if they were only habitual and not spiritual; and they were also useless if they did not instill a sense of glad determination to carry out God’s work. God’s declaration was practical: Instead of fasting, the people should strengthen their hands to work while also following truth, justice and peace (8:9,16-19). For us this lesson indicates not only that we should have confidence in God, but also that traditions are of no use if they do not produce God’s character in us. As the writer J. Vernon McGee has stated, “It is not our hymn singing on Sunday, but our action on Monday that is the real test.”2

Messages From The LORD
Chapters 9-14 form a new division of Zechariah’s prophecy, containing two messages, or burdens, of the word of the LORD. The first comprises chapters 9-11, in which the nations are warned and a King is promised. The passage in Zechariah 9:9 precisely describes the humble entrance of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem, riding a donkey’s colt. Despite such a clear prophecy, He was rejected. The false shepherds of the people retained their influence, although the LORD would eventually remove them in His anger (10:3, 11:5-17). This passage also indicates a complete lack of appreciation of the LORD’s messenger (11:12), for Zechariah (here representing the LORD Himself) was valued at only thirty pieces of silver, equal only to the replacement value of an injured servant (Ex. 21:32) – exactly the amount for which Judas later betrayed the Lord Jesus.

The second burden occupies chapters 12-14, in which we see that Jerusalem will face many enemies, but it will be defended by the LORD Himself. This deliverance will be remarkable not only for the defeat of many nations, but also for the spiritual renewal that will take place among God’s people. They will look on the One whom they pierced – another reference to the Lord Jesus (Jn. 19:37) – and they will mourn with deep repentance. A fountain of cleansing will open and false prophets will be exposed.3 God’s true Shepherd will also be wounded and His sheep scattered (a reference also to Jesus’ scattered disciples in Matthew 26:31); yet through their trouble His people will be refined like silver and gold in a furnace and they will be restored to the LORD.

The closing chapter of Zechariah adds further details about the great victory of the day of the LORD against the nations. Christ Himself will stand on the Mount of Olives, and the mountain will split in two, creating a valley through which the Jews will flee to safety. Enemy soldiers will be annihilated where they stand. During Christ’s kingdom the nations will be required to worship Him at Jerusalem, and even the most ordinary objects will reflect His holiness.

A Message For Today
There are at least nine passages from Zechariah quoted by New Testament writers, establishing its immediate relevance for believers today. But more importantly, Zechariah illustrates the impact God wants His Word to have in our lives. Great insight comes from Ezra 6:14, which says that the people “built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah” and “finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” Haggai and Zechariah were not training workers in construction methods or giving seminars about engineering principles, yet the work prospered because of the prophets. Any worker can learn the necessary skills to do the work, but we must be equipped by God’s Word to do it in the right manner and with the right purpose. Without it, service is dormant; but with it, the work prospers. Therefore, if we want to keep our hands busy for the Lord we must also have our ears open to hear His word. Listening to His voice will saturate our service with God’s strength and focus our eyes on the glory of Christ.

END NOTES
1. In Zechariah 8:19 God also refers to fasts in the fourth and tenth months, which represented other events related to the siege and capture of Jerusalem.
2. Notes & Outlines: ZECHARIAH, By J. Vernon McGee
3. There are different views as to the wounded person in Zechariah 13:6. Certainly the Lord Jesus was also wounded in the house of His friends; yet the context of the passage suggests that the speaker in this verse may be one of the false prophets. The worship of false gods involved ritual cutting, as in 1 Kings 18:28. Zechariah describes a time when faithful Jews will reject false prophets like this one. He would claim that he was not a false prophet but a simple farmer; yet his wounds gave him away, even though he pretended that they were accidental injuries (or perhaps he was forced to admit he was indeed with his “friends” in the house of idolatry).

By Stephen Campbell