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Zechariah 8

1 - The word of the LORD of Hosts came to me.
2 - The LORD of Armies says: "I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath."
3 - The LORD says: "I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the middle of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called 'The City of Truth;' and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts, 'The Holy Mountain.'"
4 - The LORD of Armies says: "Old men and old women will again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
5 - The streets of the city will be full of boys and girls playing in its streets."
6 - The LORD of Armies says: "If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my eyes?" says the LORD of Hosts.
7 - The LORD of Armies says: "Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
8 - and I will bring them, and they will dwell within Jerusalem; and they will be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness."
9 - The LORD of Armies says: "Let your hands be strong, you who hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of Hosts was laid, even the temple, that it might be built.
10 - For before those days there was no wages for man, nor any wages for an animal; neither was there any peace to him who went out or came in, because of the adversary. For I set all men everyone against his neighbor.
11 - But now I will not be to the remnant of this people as in the former days," says the LORD of Hosts.
12 - "For the seed of peace and the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will give its increase, and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.
13 - It shall come to pass that, as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Don't be afraid. Let your hands be strong."
14 - For the LORD of Hosts says: "As I thought to do evil to you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath," says the LORD of Hosts, "and I didn't repent;
15 - so again I have thought in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Don't be afraid.
16 - These are the things that you shall do: speak every man the truth with his neighbor. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates,
17 - and let none of you devise evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate," says The LORD.
18 - The word of the LORD of Hosts came to me.
19 - The LORD of Armies says: "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months shall be for the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace."
20 - The LORD of Armies says: "Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come;
21 - and the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of The LORD, and to seek the LORD of Hosts. I will go also.'
22 - Yes, many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of The LORD."
23 - The LORD of Armies says: "In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, 'We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'"
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
Hebrew Name - Zekar-yah "Yahweh is Remembered"
Greek Name - Zacharias (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Zechariah (According to Tradition)
Date - 520 BC Approximately
Theme - The First and Secong Coming of Messiah
Types and Shadows - In Zechariah Jesus is the Humble King

The First Day. Light.

Summary of The Book of 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 12:10 

Zechariah 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.

The First Day. Light.

Zechariah Resources

The Divided Kingdom
The Northern Kingdom of Israel
The Southern Kingdom of Judah
The Assyrian Captivity
The Babylonian Captivity
The Return From Babylon
The Prophets
The Messiah

The Book of Zechariah

More About the Book of Zechariah
Zechariah in the Picture Study Bible
Chart of the Prophets of Israel and Judah
Timeline of the Ancient World
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