Zechariah 1:7-21  (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Zechariah 1:7-21.  It’s not an easy passage to understand, but the lessons in it are significant.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Zechariah 1:7 (NIV)
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo. 

On verse 7:  Here Zechariah begins to recount 8 visions that he apparently received in a single night from God.  Verses 8-17 describe the first vision.

Zechariah 1:8 (NIV)
8 During the night I had a vision–and there before me was a man riding a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses. 

On verse 8:  In his first vision Zechariah sees an angel who looks like a man riding a red horse, standing among the myrtle trees in the middle of a deep valley, and backed by other horses.

Three times in this passage Zechariah describes this horseback riding angel as “standing among the myrtle trees” (v8, 10, 11).  What is a myrtle tree?  A myrtle tree is known for having these traits:

– not the biggest tree (apparently myrtle trees grow to about 8 to 10 feet in height, whereas other trees in Israel grow much taller)
– produces white flowers
– gives off a fragrance that many think smells sweeter than a rose
– an evergreen plant (in every season its leaves are always green)

Maybe you can relate to the myrtle tree.  You may not be the biggest, or the strongest, or the one who sticks out most in the crowd.  But God has chosen you.  He has chosen to stand in your midst.  Like the myrtle tree, you were made to give off a fragrance: the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14-16).

Just like the myrtle trees in the valley had the angel of the Lord standing among them, God is with you, even in the valley.  And because you have God’s presence in your life, like a myrtle tree you can be an evergreen whose “leaves are always green, who has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:8)    Because God is with you, you can stand in the middle of a deep valley and not be afraid.  

Zechariah 1:9-10 (NIV)
9 I asked, “What are these, my lord?” The angel who was talking with me answered, “I will show you what they are.”
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent to go throughout the earth.” 

On verses 9-10:  When Zechariah asks about the horses he sees in the vision, he is told that they are angels, ones whom God has sent to go throughout the earth (v9).  Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach us about the reality of angels.  While Satan has evil spirits that do his bidding, even more the Lord Almighty has angels who do the Lord’s bidding.  Like Elisha’s servant in 2 Kings 6, we can often be blind to the presence and work of angels in our lives.  But if God were to open our eyes, we would see that a lot of the provision and protection we receive is through the work of angels.  That’s why one of the names for God in the King James translation of the Bible is the “Lord of hosts” (e.g. see v3, 6, 12 in KJV), or more literally, the Lord of angel armies.

Zechariah 1:11-17 (NIV)
11 And they reported to the angel of the LORD, who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.” 
12 Then the angel of the LORD said, “LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?”
13 So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,
15 but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.’
16 “Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the LORD Almighty.
17 “Proclaim further: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.'” 

On verses 11-17:  The junior angels whom God sent to go throughout the earth report that the whole world is at peace (v11).  Yet for God and the more senior angels who were closer to Him (like the angel identified as “the angel of the Lord” and the angel who was speaking to Zechariah), there was still something wrong in the world that the junior angels had not noticed: for 70 years Jerusalem and Zion (another name for God’s people) had been living in ruins while the surrounding nations lived in relative prosperity (v12).  While God wanted to discipline Zion (his people) for their sins and had chosen the surrounding nations to deliver that discipline, those other nations had gone too far.  That’s why God says in verses 14b-15:

“…My love for Jerusalem and Mount Zion is passionate and strong. But I am very angry with the other nations that are now enjoying peace and security. I was only a little angry with my people, but the nations inflicted harm on them far beyond my intentions.”

So God promises that the city of Jerusalem and its temple will be rebuilt (v16) and that prosperity, comfort and blessing from God would once again belong to Jerusalem (v17).

What can we learn from this?  While God cares for the entire world, God has a special place in his heart for “Zion”, that is, God’s people, the church.  God is passionate and jealous for His people.  Even if the whole world were at rest, God would not be satisfied until the people of Zion — that is, we His church — are thriving the way He made His church to thrive.

Zechariah 1:18-21 (NIV)
18  Then I looked up–and there before me were four horns!
19  I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?” He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
20  Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
21  I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”

On verses 18-21:  In a second vision that night Zechariah sees four horns and four craftsmen.  When Zechariah asks the meaning of the vision, he is told that the horns had scattered (or oppressed) Judah, Israel and Jerusalem (v19).  Some have tried to identify the four horns as four nations that had scattered in the past prior to Zechariah’s vision, such as Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and Persia.  Others have suggested another foursome of world powers consisting of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.  Others still have interpreted the four horns as referring not to any particular nations in the world but rather as a picture of completeness in terms of the opposition that Israel would face.  Whatever the case may be, in verse 15 God expresses his dismay at how such opposition had gone too far in punishing His people.  The four craftsmen represent forces that God would use to overthrow that opposition.

What can we learn from this?

1.  No one is greater than God — no individual, no group, no nation or alliance of nations.  No matter how powerful a person or nation may seem, God can easily raise up someone greater to defeat that person or nation.  Only God is truly great.

2. When God shows you something that you don’t understand, like Zechariah don’t be afraid to ask the Holy Spirit what it means.  The Holy Spirit is there to guide you into all truth and to give you insight and understanding into the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10).

Lord of Angel Armies, thank You for sending angels to watch over us.  Thank You that though we may not be the biggest, the strongest, or the most outstanding, You chose us, You stand among us and Your heart is for us.  Because You are with us, we can bear fruit in every season.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

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