ZECHARIAH: OVERVIEW 

Zechariah (“God Remembered”) is the post-exilic prophet given waking visions by YHWH. 

The pattern of the immediate and the relevant as well as the future fulfillment should always be in view when reading through Zechariah.  When we have options for meaning, we should meditate on the Old Testament and then also pray.  There are patterns of meaning from other passages in the Bible that inform Zechariah’s visions.  God is speaking to His people to follow Him and uses Zechariah’s waking visions to lead them.  God is for His people (towards them) and the message was accepted by the people of God.  God says often “turn to Me” and He promises to be faithful and will enable them to follow. 

Following is taking from God’s hand and maturing.   

Following is denying self. 

Following is doing what is best in God’s eyes (not in our own eyes) 

God reminds them of their forefathers often and He mentions previous sins often.  He wants them to take note of them and not to follow them.  Follow God: 

* Follow His way.   

* Worship the Lord only.   

* Obey to enter His rest (to use the Book of Hebrews language).   

God did not want them just to be good, but to follow faithfully unlike the previous generations.  He wanted them to follow him in the rebuilding phase that they would experience.   

Draw near. 

Fall and get up. 

Draw near. 

Endure the drama and politics. 

Draw near. 

The rebuilding of Jerusalem happens along with the judging of other nations.  God is not only rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple, but is rebuilding their lives from the ground up which includes their motivations for following Him.  They had to be after God’s heart.  They had to be blameless and work through the requirements of God.  A good word for this is “blameless” which means accepting sin and owning up to what we have done.   

In this study in each chapter of Zechariah, we will… 

Focus: A little bit of context. 

Focus: How does this draw is to God? 

Focus: The OT to the cross. 

TMB & BMD