15. they . . . far off shall . . .
build--The reason why the crowns were made of gold received from
afar, namely, from the Jews of Babylon, was to typify the conversion of
the Gentiles to Messiah, King of Israel. This, too, was included in
the "peace" spoken of in
Zec 6:13
(Ac 2:39;
Eph 2:12-17).
Primarily, however, the return of the dispersed Israelites "from afar"
(Isa 60:9)
to the king of the Jews at Jerusalem is intended, to be followed,
secondly, by the conversion of the Gentiles from "far off"
(Zec 2:11; 8:2-2, 23;
Isa 60:10; 57:19).
build in the temple--Christ "builds the temple"
(Zec 6:12, 13;
Heb 3:3, 4):
His people "build in the temple." Compare
Heb 3:2,
"Moses in His house."
ye shall know, &c.--when the event corresponds to the prediction
(Zec 2:9; 4:9).
this shall come to pass, if ye . . . obey, &c.--To the Jews of
Zechariah's day a stimulus is given to diligent prosecution of the
temple building, the work which it was meanwhile their duty to fulfil,
relying on the hope of the Messiah afterwards to glorify it. The
completion of the temple shall "come to pass," if ye diligently on your
part "obey the Lord." It is not meant that their unbelief could set
aside God's gracious purpose as to Messiah's coming. But there is,
secondarily, meant, that Messiah's glory as priest-king of Israel shall
not be manifested to the Jews till they turn to Him with obedient
penitence. They meanwhile are cast away "branches" until they be grafted
in again on the Branch and their own olive tree
(Zec 3:8; 12:10-12;
Mt 23:39;
Ro 11:16-24).
JFB.
Zechariah Images and
Notes The Book of Zechariah Zechariah 12:9-10 - And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn. Zechariah 13:6-7 - And [one] shall say unto him, What [are] these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, [Those] with which I was wounded [in] the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man [that is] my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. The Old Testament - A Brief Overview Bible Survey - Zechariah Zechariah, like Haggai and Malachi, was a prophet of the Persian period. He prophesied to the Jews who had returned from exile around 520 BC when the Persian Empire was ruling the world. Each of these prophets encouraged the Jews to continue the work of God and rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. The prophet Zechariah begins his message reminding the Jews that the captivity had been a result of their own disobedience, and God rebuked their fathers as well. Zechariah received a series of visions in which God revealed his plan for the history and future of the world, showing that he is ultimately in control and he will fulfill the promises that were made to their fathers and to Abraham. The city of Jerusalem is seen as a city so wonderful and prosperous that it needed to be enlarged in order to contain all the people (Zechariah 2). In the vision of Joshua the high priest Zechariah saw him in filthy rags, which was no doubt the nation of Israel repenting and receiving their Messiah and being cleansed of their sins (Zechariah 3). Other visions reveal the coming judgment of God, and his victory over sin, and everything is about the Messiah and his coming. Zechariah prophesied about the nations that oppressed Israel, there be a time of destruction and later they would come to worship the Lord in Jerusalem. The prophet Zechariah spoke more about the Messiah than any of the prophets, except the prophet Isaiah. There is one fabulous prophecies of Zechariah reveals about the Messiah's death: - The above text is © Rusty Russell - Bible History Online and must be sourced for use on a website. "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." Zechariah 12:10Zechariah was the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo (Zechariah 1:1, 7). He was born in Babylon and had returned to Jerusalem in the group led by Zerubbabel sixteen years previous to the time of his ministry (Nehemiah 12:4, 16). He was a contemporary of Haggai and began to prophesy two months after Haggai in 520 BC. The work of rebuilding the temple was already in progress. Zechariah preached at least two years longer than Haggai (Zechariah 7:1) and possibly even longer. The situation was the same as described in the introduction to Haggai. The purpose of Zechariah's preaching was to strengthen the people in the reality of their calling, their history, and their future, as well as that of the nations. Zechariah also joined Haggai in the task of encouraging the construction of the temple and to see it through to its completion. Zechariah reproved the people, he gave them encouragement and exhortation, as well as the promises of God's blessing and spoke much about the Messiah and what would happen to the Jews and the nations when He comes. The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows : Outline of the Book of Zechariah The book is divided into two parts: Zechariah 1-8, concerned mainly with the rebuilding of the temple, and Zechariah 9-14, dealing with future events, notably the coming of Messiah and the glory of His reign. Zechariah begins his book (Zechariah 1) with a reminder that the captivity had been a result of disobedience. He continues by relating a series of visions designed to show that God is in control of history and will bring a glorious blessing to the faithful remnant of His people. Jerusalem is pictured as so prosperous it is having to be enlarged to hold the people (Zechariah 2). The vision of Joshua the high priest, clothed in filthy rags (Zechariah 3) seems to be a definite prevision of the atonement of Christ. Other visions in the book point to the certainty of God's judgment and ultimate victory over sin, culminating in the coming of the Messiah. Zechariah Resources
The Divided Kingdom The Book of Zechariah
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