Zechariah

Week of Monday, August 26, 2002

Most Christians that I know do not put much stock in their dream life when it comes to their journey with Jesus. For the most part, I am glad about that. But when you read the Scriptures, dreams loom large in the history of salvation for quite a few people—recall the birth narratives of Jesus, Joseph or Daniel, to cite just three examples. Not too long ago both my wife and my daughter awoke one morning to recount vivid dreams that they had experienced during the night. I offered no interpretation and neither did they. But even their strange dreams pale in comparison to the succession of night visions that the prophet Zechariah had about the nation of Israel.

Like Haggai, Zechariah dated some but not all of his prophecies, so we know that he was a contemporary of Haggai in the postexilic community. But the content of his message is quite different. Hobart Freeman has suggested that “the difference between the two prophets seems to be that while Haggai's task was chiefly to rouse the people to the outward task of building the temple, Zechariah took up the prophetic labors here and sought to lead the people to a complete spiritual change. Moreover, the prophecy of Haggai is centered primarily around the local historical situation of the postexilic community in Judah, whereas Zechariah's prophecies are universal in scope and are eschatological and apocalyptic in their outlook.”¹ Zechariah is significantly longer than Haggai's brief message, too, and with Hosea it is easily the longest of the twelve minor prophets.

Zechariah falls into two very distinct sections. Chapters 1–8 are composed primarily of eight visions that he had about Israel and read like historical narrative, then chapters 9–14 are two “oracles” or “burdens” that read more like prophetic poetry. These two sections are so different that more critical, liberal scholars think that they were written by two different writers and then later combined. That might be true, but others have suggested that the second half of Zechariah might come from a later period in his life. They also point out clear similarities between the two parts. There's no way to tell for sure, and since they have come down to us in their final form it really does not make much difference.

The problem that troubled Zechariah is one that troubles all of us in one way or another. For him it was the destruction of God's elect people Israel and then their exile to Babylon. How could that possibly happen? What would come next? Had Yahweh deserted Israel forever and for good? “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?” (1:12). When I read these words I am reminded of the very similar words in Psalm 6:3, “My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long?” In the book of Revelation the question has to do with believers who had been martyred for Jesus: “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” (Revelation 6:10). Every Christian has experienced their own deeply personal version of this question at one time or another: how long, O Lord? When will He act and answer?

The good news of Zechariah is that the Lord had “kind and comforting words” (1:13) to speak to Israel through him. He did this through a series of dreams that Zechariah had: “During the night I had a vision” (1:8). In fact, he had a series of eight visions, all on the same night. Unlike other parts of the Bible that present us with dreams, visions and apocalyptic literature and then leave the guesswork to us—for example, Ezekiel, Daniel, or the book of Revelation—Zechariah also provides us with the interpretation. The eight dreams contain a repeated pattern—the vision, a question, and then an answer.

Here are the eight dreams along with the interpretations that Zechariah gives:

Man riding a red horse: God is jealous for Jerusalem and will return to her with mercy, prosperity and comfort. Four horses and four craftsmen: The craftsmen will scatter and destroy the horns which represent the nations that scattered Judah. Man with a measuring line: Jerusalem will be so blessed that it would be impossible to measure it; even Gentiles from “many nations” will live among her. Joshua's clean clothes: Satan tries to accuse Joshua the high priest, who represents the entire nation, but God exchanges his filthy clothes for clean clothes. “See, I have taken away your sin,” and the sin of the entire land. Gold lamp stand and two olive trees: Don't despise “the day of small things.” Zerubbabel will lead the rebuilding of the temple, but note: “'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty.” Flying scroll: The scroll is gigantic, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide. According to one side of the scroll, “every thief will be banished,” and according to the other side, “everyone who swears falsely will be banished.” Woman in a basket: The sins of Israel are symbolically flown away in a basket. Four chariots: Each chariot has a different colored horse (red, white, black, dappled); the horses “going to the north country have given my Spirit rest in the land of the north.”

In prophecies like this it is easy to see how interpretive excess can run rampant. So many questions come to mind. Do the colors of the four horses represent anything? Should we understand the future blessings of Israel to occur literally, and try to connect them to modern geopolitical events, or see them fulfilled figuratively in Christ and the church? How do we connect the commentary that clearly applies to Zechariah's own day (for example, the rebuilding of the temple by Zerubbabel) and the parts that seem to apply to a future day (for example, Gentile peoples from many nations at peace in Jerusalem)? Why is Israel's sin in the flying basket represented by a woman; is that not misogynist?

These questions are interesting and have at least some merit. But the real message of Zechariah is even more powerful and interesting because in the midst of her failure, annihilation, exile, return and desolation, Israel was asking, “How long, O Lord?” (1:12). It was through Zechariah that “the Lord spoke kind and comforting words” (1:12). When you look at the eight visions together it is precisely kindness and comfort that they communicate. Jerusalem can expect mercy and prosperity beyond measure. The entire land will enjoy forgiveness of sins, as if flown away in a basket, cleansed by a fountain (13:1), or symbolized by an exchange of clothes. Best of all, true life with Yahweh is not by power, not by might, not even by ritual fasts and ceremonies, but by His Spirit.

Just how long, then? Parts of Zechariah's prophecy clearly apply to the distant future; I find them obscure and difficult to understand. But other parts of Zechariah are clear and easy to understand: “Return to me,” the Lord declared, “and I will return to you” (1:3). The most important dimensions, then, pertained to Israel's then-and-there. Restoration and return could occur in their own day because Yahweh was a compassionate God who longed to “restore twice as much” to them (9:12). That blessing would even come to “all the nations that attacked Jerusalem”, if we can imagine that (14:16). And miracle of miracles, those same words of kindness and comfort from a compassionate God come to you and me today.