Zechariah (1)

My Tuesday group is in Zechariah, here is our first week:

This will be our first week in the prophet Zechariah. Let’s please keep in mind what we’ve read in Ezra and in Haggai (as well as Nehemiah if you’ve read that…it’s never too late!), remembering that all of these books form an integrated whole. Haggai and Zechariah worked together in prophesying and giving direction to Jeshua/Joshua (High Priest), Zerubbabel (civil authority leader), and the remnant of Judah returning to rebuild the Temple and the City.

Zechariah is similar to Daniel in that they both contain lots of images, and in this sense they are both similar to the Apostle John’s Apocalypse (Revelation). In fact, Revelation is pretty much the compilation of imagery found throughout the Old Testament, from Genesis through Malachi. This means that a reader of the Apocalypse who is not familiar with Old Testament imagery and narrative is at a distinct disadvantage.

Zechariah and the Apocalypse defy straight-line thinking and reasoning, they are not linear but rather multi-dimensional (which is really true of the entire Bible). They dance from before time began to after time, as we know it, is concluded. It doesn’t appear as if the Holy Spirit is interested in dumbing things down but rather in raising us up to see things in Christ that we’ve never seen before. As the Church Fathers taught, Christ became as we are so that we might become as He is (see John 17).

When pondering Zechariah it can be a challenge to figure out when a group of visions and experiences start and when they end, we just need to do the best we can and not get caught up in the weeds. For sure it is all connected, both within the book of Zechariah itself and within the Bible as a whole. Let me assure us that “scholars” often don’t agree about these things, and after all, the important thing is to see Christ and to grow in Christ, being transformed into His image…and to bring others to Christ.

So then, the first movement is Zechariah 1:1 – 6. What is God saying? How are the people responding? Remember that Zechariah is prophesying during the same time that Haggai is prophesying (Ezra 5:1; 6:4).

What role does repentance play in our churches today? Do you sense that the American church is grieved over its sin? I’m not speaking of the sins of the world, I’m thinking of the disobedience we see within the professing church.

Or is confession of sin, when we do express it, more perfunctory than anything?

What do we see in 1:7 – 11? I’ll mention that there are times in the Bible when tranquility and silence are a prelude to God’s judgment. (Revelation 8:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). This is one reason why we cannot gauge the times we live in by military success or economic prosperity or other “natural” indicators. God’s ways are not our ways.

1:12 – note the seventy years, a reminder that Zechariah is tied to Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and of course Haggai. Zechariah is part of a larger picture.

1:13 – 14: What is the message given to Zechariah?

1:15 – why is God angry with the nations who He used to judge Jerusalem?

1:16 – 17 – The image of a measuring line is used elsewhere in Scripture; Zechariah 2:1-2; Ezekiel 40:1 – 4 and beyond; Revelation 11:1; 21:15. What does this image of a measuring rod convey to you?

1:18 – 21: What is the image of the horns meant to convey? Why horns? Please find some other examples in the Bible of this image and how it is used. It is a fairly common Biblical image.

What are the four carpenters/craftsmen meant to convey?

If Jerusalem is speaking to us of the people of God, then what can the church learn from Zechariah Chapter One?

What can we learn in terms of warning?

What can we learn in terms of hope?

How should we view the world surrounding the church based on this chapter?

How should we view our calling, our purpose on earth, based on this chapter?