Four Points Church Four Points Church

Twice in our passage, God reminds the people of the destruction He brought on them because of their
disobedience. In verse 10, God calls attention to the economic and social state of things under the curse. When a society is under a curse from Almighty God, it is not difficult to look around and see the effects of that curse. God used the Babylonians to utterly destroy Judah and its capital city, Jerusalem. He again reminds those who returned from their exile that He “purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath, and I did not relent” (v. 14). When God purposes to do something, there is nothing that will stop Him from accomplishing it. Even after King Josiah’s reforms in 2 Kings 23, God still was not dissuaded from the destruction of the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

Chapter 7 begins almost two years after the last of the eight visions Zechariah received. Things have been going well in Jerusalem. The temple is being rebuilt and is just a few years at this point from being finished. Leadership is established through Zerubbabel, and the priesthood is active through Joshua. Word has reached all around the surrounding areas that the prophets, speaking for God, have returned to the holy city. These are exciting times in the city, but also for local areas that once benefited from the prosperity of Jerusalem in her flourishing days of old. Things are really turning around and future fortune seems just around the corner. These new times bring new questions to the minds of those living in the vicinity of temple progress. And who better to answer these questions than the leaders and prophets of Jerusalem?

In Zechariah 3, Zechariah’s visions introduced a character called “the Branch,” who will bring about restoration and new growth in God’s people. In Zechariah 6:9-15, the Branch is spoken of again, and we learn that the Branch is a priest who is crowned like a king. This brings hope and purpose to the exiles of Judah, who are charged with restoring the city of Jerusalem and its temple.

We’ve seen horses before in Zechariah (see Zechariah 1:7-17). In his eighth and final vision of the evening, Zechariah again sees horses. This time, the vision is not against the background of darkness, as it was in chapter 1. Rather, Zechariah’s eighth vision is set against the background of dawn. Hope is breaking through for God’s discouraged people. They are to get their eyes off of their bleak circumstances and onto their sovereign God, who is working out His rule and reign in this world for the benefit of His people. Our circumstances are never beyond the reach of hope!

As we begin chapter 5, we see the prophet Zechariah having two separate visions, the sixth and seventh that are recorded in this book: the Flying Scroll, and the Woman in a Basket. Though the two visions are different, they clearly go together to form one bigger message: that sin is revealed through the law, sin is judged, and then sin is removed.

In Zechariah’s fifth vision, he is shown a golden lampstand. The Hebrew word for this lamp is “menorah.” The fact this particular lamp is gold is symbolic of the lamps included in the temple furnishings: one in the tabernacle and later, ten in Solomon’s Temple (Exodus 25:31-40; 1 Kings 7:49). It was the job of the priests to ensure these lamps were filled with oil and kept burning at all times (Leviticus 24:1-4).