Profiles Of Jesus In The Book Of Zechariah
by David T. Battler

The book of Zechariah is a bit of a mysterious maze to most christians; but it really does deserve a lot more attention than what we usually decide to give it.

In this thread, you will be expected to take the dust off this part of your Bible; for the specific purpose of finding Christ in the book of Zecharia: That is, provided that we find Him there!

We all know just one or two familiar verses in Zechariah, which we occassionally quote, such as:
Zech. 4:6 - "Not by might, nor by power; but by my Spirit saith the Lord God of hosts."

Sadly though; the majority of this exciting book of the Bible is usually passed over unread, and uncared about...It is, for the most part NEGLECTED, because to this day, it remains largely unopened by today's Christians.
Your participation in this thread is welcome if you are willing to give us positive input that is non-critical; although any questions to clarify are certainly welcome. Anything not pertaining somehow to this study subject, will be moved to a more appropriate thread.

A few preliminaries to take note of:
1/ The book of Zechariah is very relevant to Seventh Day Adventist theology, and mission; and we should study it very carefully.
2/ Zechariah has just 14 short chapters; yet it is one of the most Messianic books of the Old Testament.
3/ The book of Zechariah closely parallels Daniel and Revelation; and it could be said that Zechariah and Daniel are to the Old Testament, what Revelation is to the New Testament. Can't you just picture it...Old Zechariah standing between the prophet Daniel, and John the revelator, with his arms extended, complementing and reinforcing the inspired message of Daniel and Revelation.

Each posting in this thread will be about as long as this one; and will end with a question or two to uncover more of what God is saying to us through this study.
1/ What were things like in the history of God's people, as the messages and prophecies of Zechariah came to them?
2/ What are the implications for God's people today of these messages and prophecies?

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).
Your brother in Christ
David T. Battler
[This message has been edited by DavidTBattler (edited August 02, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by DavidTBattler (edited August 18, 2000).]

On the EGW rom disk there are 229-or 279 references to Zechariah. Especially the meaning of the prophetic symbols and to study which chapters that would put the church "onward and upward."
I don't have the newest cd-rom (if it has published & unpublished SOP on it.)
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Edward F. Sutton

Note 2 On Zecharia

The prophecies and messages in the book of Zecharia came at a very crucial time in the history of God’s people.

They were all just returning from their exile in Babylon; and were occupied with discouragement, spiritual apathy, and skepticism about the future.

During this kind of prevailing mood, God called upon Zecharia to restore confidence and direction to His remnant people, through His powerful promises, and through restoration in the Messiah.

Similarly, God is calling upon His remnant people of today to find REVIVAL AND REFORMATION in these well-timed messages of Zecharia originating from Jesus Himself: His love, His life, , and His return as

King Of Kings, and Lord Of Lords!

Bible texts to follow in next post!

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

Profiles Of Jesus In The Book Of Zechariah: Part 3
by David T. Battler
God's Great Mercy

Zechariah, in Hebrew, means: "Yahweh remembers." God remembers. His people were in exile for 70 years, (1:12), and God remembered them, as He promised, with mercy. (1:13, 16).

It is exciting to see in an Old Testament book, the same wonderful profiles of Jesus, as what you would see in a New Testament book.
The book of Zechariah contains a lot of prophetic allusions to the person, work, and future glory of Jesus Christ - it is all wrapped in symbolic and figurative language. A survey of all the minor prophets reveals that Zechariah has more to say on Christ than any other of the minor prophets.

Important Messianic Predictions in this book are as follows:
1) The Branch: chapt. 3 & 6, (compare Isa.4:2, Jer.23:5)
2) Christ As King-Priest: 6:13
3) Christ's Triumphant Entry Into Jerusalem and His Coming Glory: 9:9-10
4) Christ As Shepherd Betrayed: 11:12-13
5) Christ Crucified: 12:10
6) The Sufferings Of Christ: 13:7
7) The Second Coming Of Christ: chapter 14

God's theme of "Return to Me," (1:3), obviously took the priority in Zechariah's ministry.
Can you see how God would want to restore His covenant relationship with His children, before He went ahead with the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple? Well, OK. So you see that. You're well on your way to being a great theologian; but what about NOW? What would this have to do with us NOW?

I know that many of us struggle with being mistreated in various ways, within the church, as well as without. When I am mistreated, I will often hold a great grudge, or develop an enormous chip on the shoulder! I will often act defensively, and in some cases, even go on the attack, because I have a right to. And, after I have done my dirty work, I have the nerve to sit on my high horse expecting the guilty party to take the initiative towards me; and make some amends. But, still, as sad experience will bear testimony to; the situation may never be restored completely.

Praise the Lord that His ways are not our ways! Christ Himself has come to us, as one of us, that we might come to Him, and become one of Him, so to speak...He wants to give us faith, repentance, and forgiveness.

The book of Zechariah can teach us about God's return to His people; and Israel's return to their God.
Why do you think God would have to, or want to return to us? What does the Bible mean, when it tells us about God returning to us?

God's Return:
1/ He has returned to Jerusalem (1:16)
2/ God's Words of comfort: (1:13)
3/ God's jealousy: (1:14)
4/ God's anger: (1:15)
5/ God's great compassion: (1:16)

Israel's Return:
1/ God's earnest appeal: "Return to Me" (1:3)
2/ God's concerned exhortation: "Be not like your fathers" (1:4)
3/ Israel's spiritual returning: (1:6).

How is it possible that God returns to us? Did He go away some where for a while? Let us see if we can stick to the book of Zechariah for our answers, as much as possible.

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).
Your brother in Christ, David T. Battler

Just to let you know David, I am still searching Zechariah to understand it!!

In fact, since it seems so far out of my comprehension, I have engaged the assistance of my dear friends and husband to help me out

I will be back . . . !!

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Sarah Moss
*Prayer Changes Things!*

Try plugging the key words of the texts , text by text into the EGW cd-rom disk search engine & you will get a wealth of explanation. If you don't have it, the two best versions to get from the Adventist Book Center are

1. EGW Library Edition 3.0 & manual from the White Estate. Gerry Buck has one - email & ask him what the system requirements are.

2. Legacy of Light Research Edition

I think my personal favorite is the 3.0 -so far. I upgraded to the Research Edition & it doesn't seem as user friendly to my way of using it as the 3.0 if the 3.0 is still offered for sale.

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Edward F. Sutton

Thanks for the info Ed. I'll have to keep it in mind. However, it won't be for a while unless God provides because with my husband in school we're stetching my pay cheque to the limits already!!

On a positive note, I think I am beginning to understand Zechariah - just by doing cross-referencing in the Bible and applying what I know and am learning about in Daniel/Revelation. Proof positive that when we ask God will open the doors of understanding and lead us where we need to go.

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Sarah Moss
*Prayer Changes Things!*

Well, we're still, technically in chapter 1 with this study. One of the things that I find very interesting here, is this business about the guy in the myrtle trees. (see vs.10-11).

A clue as to who this is in the myrtle trees may be wrapped in the fact that it was a habit or a custom of Zecharia to look up, and see a vision of God. (1:18, 2:1, 5:1, 6:1, etc.).

What is the significance of "looking up" for God's church today? Who is that guy in the myrtle trees, and is he important to Christians in the year 2000?

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

[This message has been edited by DavidTBattler (edited September 05, 2000).]

Okay, v. 10: "behold a man riding upon a red horse and he stood among the myrtle trees. . ..
"Well, my Bible has these wonderful cross-references that sent me back to Joshua 5:13 "a man . . . with his sword drawn" who is later identified as "the captain of the host of the Lord", which fulfilled Exodus 23:23 "For my Angel shall go before thee".
Acts 1:10 and Genesis 18:2 show us that angels frequently appeared to be men in the OT, therefore, I concluded that the man on the red horse standing in the myrtle trees must be the angel that goes before the four winds that reek havoc upon the earth
(continuing v.10 where I went to Rev. 6:4 for the symbolism of the horses).

Rev. 6:4 speaks of the 2nd seal where power is given to the Red Horse to take peace from the earth. I noted that in Zechariah 1:11 it mentions that there are many white and bay horses following the red horse, but only the red horse has a rider. What, I wonder, is the significance of this?

These conclusions are where my studies have taken me so far, anyway.
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Sarah Moss
*Prayer Changes Things!*

Sarah

I'm short on time & will post more later...but let me answer the question of the red horse with another question.

In what way could Gal.6:14 be connected to the red, and the guy on the horse?

Either tommorrow or Tuesday; I'll have another bit of study to post!

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

OK.
Galations 6:14 "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world"

This, of course, seems to only have one obvious answer - that red symbolizes the blood of Christ, shed upon the cross and the Angel of the Lord sitting upon the horse can only be Christ leading the final charge against Satan. . . right?
(Please note that I use the term "Angel of the Lord loosely, because in my Daniel studies in Sabbath School we learned that Jesus is the Prince of the Angels, and would then be the Angel of the Lord, as opposed to an angel of the Lord).

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Sarah Moss
*Prayer Changes Things!*

Amen Sarah!

I will be posting some good study notes soon on this!

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

Hello Brothers and Sisters
I have a few more thoughts on the book of Zechariah. It is so amazing how Christ is revealed in all the Scriptures - when you look for Him.
May God add His blessing to the reading of His Word...

Zech.1: 8-13
Myrtle Trees: A well known and beautiful evergreen shrub, with white flowers, berries which are at first white, and then turn bluish-black. They are edible, though rather too astringent for most Western palates. (Unger's Bible Dictionary, pg.1140).

Myrtle: The snow-white flowers are bordered with purple, and an aromatic fruit, from which perfumes are made. In poor soil; it may be little more than a scraggly shrub, but it can attain a height of 20-30 feet under ideal conditions.

Myrtle branches were used to build booths for the Feast Of The Tabernacles, in post-exilic Jerusalem...(see Neh.8:15). It grows on nearby hills, and is now known in all countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
The Myrtle of Scripture is a symbol of God's generosity, and of peace and joy. (Isa.41:19, 55:13).
A grove of Myrtle trees is the setting for a vision of Zechariah. (Zech. 1:8-11).

Zechariah had a total of 8 visions.

Chapter one covers only the first two of these 8:
1) The horse men: 1:7-17: reveals God's plans for Israel at a standstill. The heathen nations of the earth are at ease, but God announces His purpose to restore the temple as His house, and to choose Jerusalem, as the agency through which His purpose of the salvation of all people shall be accomplished.

2) The four horns, and four carpenters: 1:18-21 Pictures for us the damage that Israel has suffered collectively as a nation, because of their captivity, and proclaims God's intention to repair all the damage that has been done to them.
P.K. 580: Two months after Haggai's last recorded message was delivered, Zechariah had a series of visions regarding the work of God in the earth. These messages were given in the form of parables and symbols, coming at a time of great uncertainty and anxiety; and were of peculiar significance to the men who were advancing in the name of the God of Israel.

It seemed to the leaders as if the permission granted to the Jews to rebuild was about to be withdrawn; the future appeared very dark. God saw that the people were in need of being sustained and cheered by a revelation of His infinite compassion and love.

The myrtle trees were a very common and familiar thing in the days of Zech., and since this is a very Messianic book, with Christ as the very heart and center of it; we see Christ, with all His earnest appeals to His demoralized people; and His longing to be with them, and restore them...

Wouldn't it seem natural, as well as consistent, that Jesus would want to be among His people, just as He was among the myrtle trees? (In the endtimes, Jesus is the same. His desire is to be among His people, in His church: Rev.1:12-15, 20).

What does this picture of Jesus in the myrtle trees tell you about Him? It tells me that he is not someone who absents Himself, when I have done wrong; and when I am down; but rather, Jesus stands up for His discouraged people, and comes to be with me in sympathy and solidarity.

As a result of Christ's presence among His people, many blessings are bestowed. (See Zech.1:13-17). He gives them His comfort, His love, His defense, His compassion, His prosperity, , and His restoration.
Oh! How I love Jesus!

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"We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets; Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone!" (Eph.2:20).
Your brother in Christ
David T. Battler

Great topic. I can't wait till you get to chapter 14.

Blessings,
Qranc

Hello Qranc

Thanks for dropping in on us.! Your opinions and questions are always welcome too. I agree. This is an interesting topic. I too, can't wait till I get to chapter 14. I have been slow coming out with the next study; but look for it sometime this week!

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"We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets; Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone!" (Eph.2:20).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

Profiles Of Jesus In The Book Of Zechariah Part 5

"Look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." (Luke 21:28).

What an exciting experience as we focus our attention on Christ, and follow the example of the prophet Zechariah. No matter what he was in the middle of; the young prophet was always aware of God's presence, as evidenced by his looking up.
How aware are we, of our Creator, during the course of our daily lives?
Zechariah frequently stopped whatever he was doing, to lift up his eyes, and commune with God. To Zechariah, his calling was important; but his God was more important. He was not so caught up in his "daily grind" that he missed out on victory in Christ; and he wasn't so caught up in the work of the Lord, that he missed out on the Lord of the work.

This has been and is a universal spiritual hazard among the people of God; it was the problem of the religious leaders of Christ's time; but it is important to note that the hapless rabbis did not hold a monopoly on this spiritual problem. Even Christ's disciples had this plague, and so does the church of today. Under one guise or another; Christians have a lot of trouble just "looking up" and being aware of God's presence in their daily grind.

In the estimation of the rabbis, it was the sum of [their] religion to be always in a bustle of activity...The same danger still exists. As activity increases, and men become successful in doing any work for God, there is the danger of trusting to human plans and methods. There is a tendency to pray less, and to have less faith. Like the disciples, we are in danger of losing sight of our dependence on God, and seeking to make a saviour of our activity. We need to look constantly to Jesus; realizing that it is His power which does the work. (DA 362).

Let us join Zechariah in the experience of seeing visions of our Lord, let us see some more of the portraits of Christ in this exciting book of the Bible.

If you study the first six chapters of Zechariah; you would soon see that it was a habit or a custom of the prophet, to look up and see a vision of God, and get some kind of revelation from Him. These chapters contain four examples of Zechariah doing this: 1:18, 2:1, 5:1, and 6:1.

In the first two examples; Zechariah states:
"And I lifted mine eyes and saw;"
and in the second two he said of his experience:
"Again; I lifted mine eyes and saw..."

What spiritual significance does Zechariah's lifting up of his eyes, again and again have for God's church today?

First of all, it tells us that the prophet does not project himself to us as someone who faces his challenges alone, or who sweats over his problems, without reaching beyond himself to God.

In a very similar way, everyone in the church has their own share of problems and challenges that we must face. But, long before we become stressed out and overburdened with them; we need to discipline ourselves over and over again to take these things to Christ, and try to see them from His perspective. It is quite likely that our troubles won't really disappear; but Christ wants to make an appearance, and face these challenges with us. Before we become over-taxed trying to handle our problems down here; on our own; we must train ourselves to be instinctively lifting our eyes, and looking up to God.

I know for myself; I am often aware of the natural realm of things; but it is too rare that I am even half as much aware of the supernatural around me. Elisha was a man who was acutely aware of the unseen events surrounding him and his young assistant, as we see by his prayer in
2 Kings 6:17: "O Lord, I pray Thee; open his eyes that he may see."

I found it very interesting that in Zech 5:1 and 6:1 the word "again" is used to precede "looking up." What is God saying to His church by this word again?
The word "again" as used in Zech. 5:1, and 6:1 stands for the fact that God's people need to have a pattern and some consistency in their communion with God. The prophet Zechariah did not lift up his eyes once; but again and again, meaning repeatedly. One experience is not enough. We have to look to Jesus again and again. Why else would He need to be in the sanctuary now if that wasn't the case? (Heb.7:25). In order to renew and restore our spiritual strength; we need to look again and again to Jesus. Throughout the Bible, we are told in many ways that it is essential to have a continual, or ongoing spiritual experience, through our relationship with God.

For some brief examples:
1) Pray without ceasing 1 Thes.5:17
2) Die daily to self; and live for Christ 1 Cor.15:31
3) Take up our cross daily and follow Christ Luke 9:23
4) Delight ourselves with the Law of God ? reflect on it day and night Ps.1:2
5) Search God’s Word daily – Acts 17:11

I found it to be very interesting that the word "turned" is also used in Zech. 5:1 and 6:1, in connection with looking up to God. "Turned" is a verb meaning "to stop" or "change direction," or to interrupt what is being done; and think about doing something different. So when we look a little closer at these 4 passages in Zech., we can see a definite progression or sequence of actions:

1) He turned
2) Lifted up his eyes
3) Looked
4) Beheld a vision

While Zechariah went about his regular daily toil of leading the returned exiles in rebuilding the ruins of the Temple and Jerusalem; he never lost sight of God's presence. Zechariah was always ready to interrupt his activities, no matter how important they were, and lift up his eyes to God; and listen to Him.

This looking up was his secret to spiritual victory; and today's christians must also depend on this secret. They must continually look up to the Source of their redemption.
I know that with myself, if things seem to be going fairly well at the time, I find it very easy to look up. But when things start to get really difficult, or tragic, my faith becomes a bit precarious, looking up loses it's value, and I settle into discouragement. I tend to look horizontally, rather than perpendicularly.
During the really tough times; I can be found looking at myself and/or others; and depending on complaining and criticizing to pull me through! Imagine! Instead of looking up to Christ I'm deliberately choosing to cast Him aside in favour of bitterness and fault-finding?

So we have a prophet of old, looking up to God; and seeing a vision of Him, and we are reminded of Proverbs 29:18: Where there is no vision, the people perish.
The NIV Bible actually uses the word "revelation," instead of vision.
We are to look away from self to Jesus. (MH 249).

Many people are willing to acknowledge Jesus as Lord when they look into His temple, and see Him there. (at church). Many were ready to call Him Lord, when He wrought miracles; after He had risen from the grave; but none acknowledged Him as He hung, dying on the cross, to save the penitent thief, who was saved at the eleventh hour. (DA 750).

Zechariah offers God's church a pattern to follow when they are not at church, when the spouse is yelling, when the kids are cavorting, when the job is gone, when the health disappears, when tragedy strikes. And the Bible says of all these thing: "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve," and where you will look.

Next, post, we will look at the subject of repentance as portrayed in the book of Zechariah.

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"We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets; Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone!" (Eph.2:20).

Your brother in Christ
David T. Battler

In what ways can we as a collective church "look up?"

How do we as individual Christians practice God's presence by "looking up?"

What is it that we do when we "look up" today, in the year 2000/2001?

Looking up!
Today, 24 years later, when we look down or look horizontal, all we see is confusion and a world teetering on absolute disaster.
When we look up, and remember God's prophecies, God's care, God's plan for our future, we can indeed exclaim, "Our redemption draweth nigh, it's even at the door.

Sadly, David did not continue his series, but his closing remarks sparked my interest,

I wish he would have posted that study.
But we can explore, what does Zechariah say about repentance?

Zechariah begins his book with a strong call for Israel to repent (1:1-6). This theme of repentance is developed more fully through the subsequent eight visions.

Zechariah 1:3 Therefore say to them, Thus says the LORD of hosts; Turn to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will turn to you, says the LORD of hosts.
1:4 Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus says the LORD of hosts; Turn now from your evil ways, turn from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, says the LORD.

God's theme of "Return to Me," (1:3), obviously took the priority in Zechariah's ministry.

The first six verses of which I quoted two, introduce the entire Book of Zechariah. They set the goal of the whole message. A message that alerts us that the enjoyment of the blessings of God is dependent upon a biblical repentance.
The natural condition of mankind is to be out of fellowship with God because they follow after and cherish sin.

Israel had been scattered, their city destroyed, all because the True God, was replaced by idols, materialism, unholy alliances with the kings around them, and their enchantment with sin.
Now, in Zechariah's time, the returned Israelites, after their exile in Babylon, are given a new beginning, a second chance. With encouragement from the prophet Haggai, they have done considerable work on rebuilding the temple. So there is a longing to restore their worship of the true God.
But Zechariah knows a temple and worship rituals are meaningless if their hearts are not in tune with God.

God takes the initiative and calls for them to return to Him. The word, turn, is the Old Testament way of saying repent.


The Greek word translated ?repentance? in the New Testament means ?to change one?s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness? (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, J.P. Louw and Eugene Nida, 1988).

Repentance, if genuine, is not a ritual, it is a change of attitude, "heart" and mind.

So the prophecy of Zechariah opens with a rebuke and a call to "turn" and change their attitude and thoughts with regard to sin, a change of attitude which leads to repentance, as they choose to open the communication channels and allow God to work in them to initiate that change.

?Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.?


This is not some kind of legalistic righteousness. So what does it mean? Basically, there is no way for us to enter into fellowship with God if we block Him out by choosing sin. If we do not respond to His call it's impossible to be in fellowship with Him. It's always God who takes the initiative, always, but we choose to turn from sin and allow Him to lead us into genuine repentance, into a genuine loathing of sin and longing for righteousness, or we can choose to block Him out while we cling to cherished sins and our old ways.


Turn you to the Stronghold, ye prisoners of hope." Zechariah 9:12. There is strength for us in Christ. T
Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 1:3
Turn ye now from your evil ways, and [from] your evil doings: Zechariah 1:4

God's call to repentance in Zechariah, is one of the most moving and spiritually intense calls to repentance in the Bible. It kind of parallels the call in James chapter five.
It's very much a call to a relationship. A relationship with Christ!
It's turning away from one master (the prince of disobedience) and submitting and clinging to a new Master -- Jesus Christ.

God is returning to Israel, restoring them, and calls them to return to Him.
Zech. 1:16 Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies:
Zech. 1:4 Turn yourselves unto me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, says the LORD of hosts.

That's a picture of Jesus we see in Zechariah. It's that of a loving Savior longing to restore His people. Christ is the one who has already taken the initiative and is reaching out to us. He is the One Who brings us to faith and genuine repentance, giving us every impulse to return to Him and then leading us into the paths of righteousness.

Yet we tend to run away from Him, clinging to our independence and claiming a right to sin ( those darling little sins we cling to and excuse). Or we think we have to clean up our lives before we come to Him. Without Him we can't do it. We have to come to Him first and then clean up will occur.

Repentance, something Christ ignites in us, and which matures into genuine repentance as we contemplate Christ's great love and redemption, is still our choice. Realizing the hold sin has on us, longing to be free from sin and united with the goodness of our Savior, reach out to Jesus He's reaching out to you. Submit to His loving guidance, for He is the sinners best Friend and will lift him up out of the pit of sin. But whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Love the Lord you God with your WHOLE heart.

James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you
4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Zech. 1:13,17 And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words....the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

Life in this world throws a lot of discouraging things at people. Those returned exiles were discouraged and disheartened. They did have a desire to know and worship God, but conditions seemed to work against them. That's how it is with many of us today.
What they needed most at this particular time were kind words of comfort and encouragement.

And God gave them good and comforting words.

Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, say your God.
40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem...her iniquity is pardoned:
40:28 Have you not known? have you not heard, the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
40:29 He gives power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increases strength.
40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

A Jealous God?

Zechariah 1:14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, This says the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Zechariah 8:2 This says the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

Compare with
2 Cor 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ.
Deut. 5:9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God

We tend to understand the word "jealous" as a sinful, selfish passion.
But God is not in any way connected to sinful passions. His awesome love is the very opposite to selfishness, so what is meant by these verses?
It is a strong emotional word and denotes strong emotions.

It needs to be understood in the light of God's great love for us, so great that
"God so loved the world that He gave (not just sent but gave) His only begotten Son that Whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, God didn't give His Son to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

All through the gospels (especially in the book of John) we realize that Jesus is the life, the hope, the peace. He is everything we need to have hope and life. We see Jesus pleading, and weeping, saying "how can I give you up", "how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! " and now you face desolation. " If you had known, even you, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." (Matt. 23:37, Luke 19:42, Hosea 11:8)

God's jealous is due to His great love, His great desire to save and restore and give life, peace and happiness. He knows that apart from him, we have only trouble, sorrow and eternal death.

His jealousy reveals the intensity of His love toward His erring people. He is not going to be indifferent, He will be personally involved in winning us back, offering salvation, even giving His life to redeem us, calling us to turn to Him and find the hope, life, love and peace only He can give. He is not going to sit back and simply let sin devour us.
Yet, in all that, He will not force us to come to Him, our rejection of Him causes Him to weep. He has no pleasure whatsoever in the destruction of the wicked. He would save them if only they were willing.
God hates sin, for it destroys His beloved people, and their clinging to sin causes them to reject life in Him, and only leads them into misery and desolation.
Someday, sin will be destroyed forever.

profiles of Jesus in Zachariah

So far --
*Jesus is very present with His people
*Jesus brings Words of comfort and encouragement
*Jesus calls His people to repent, turn away from the sins that have caused them so much misery and given the "enemy" access to do them get harm. Turn to Him and He will be their God and Savior.
*Jesus calls His people to "look up", look beyond the mundane activities of earth, look up and keep Christ and His promises, care, commands and love in focus.

*Jesus speaks comforting words bringing comfort and hope for the future.
*Jesus is jealous for our loyalty and love, He loves us too much to passively give us over to the dark and evil suitor who only seeks our destruction.

And what about those
HORNS?

1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
1:19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these?

The word HORN occurs in many places in scripture. Symbolically it refers to political power, kings, kingdoms (Daniel 7, Rev 17) It can also mean strength, boldness and even arrogance (Ps. 75:4-5, 132:17)

The angel tells Zechariah the horns here symbolize "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. "

Who are these four horns? Bible scholars are divided, some turn to Ezekiel 25 and point to nations that HAD been troubling Israel, like Moab, Edom, Ammon, Philistia. Others turn to Daniel 2 and 7 and point to the four empires (Babylon, Media Persia, Greek, Rome)

Ellen White simply writes:
" Next the prophet sees the powers that had "scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem," symbolized by "four horns." Immediately afterward he sees "four carpenters," representing the agencies used by the Lord in restoring his people and the house of his worship, as decreed by Cyrus and his successors, as well as by God himself. {RH, December 26, 1907 par. 12}

As we are seeking clearer pictures of Christ in Zechariah, the identity of the horns can be left for other studies. The picture of Christ that emerges here, is that He has His agencies, His craftsmen that are prepared to repair the damage done to His people by others with enough power to do considerable damage. Every era of time has it's horn powers making things difficult, yet Christ is there for His people in every era, with His words of encouragement and comfort, as His people look up to Him for their strength. He has the craftsmen who will repair what the horns seek to destroy.

Too often we may only see the first part of that vision. We see the horns, and they seem to be coming from all directions. We may become so obsessed and frightened by the horns that we fail to read the second part of the vision.

1:20 And the LORD showed me four carpenters... these are come to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
No matter how powerful those horns seem to be, remember Christ has powerful craftsmen as well, And we know we can trust in Him.

Zechariah 2:1
I looked and saw, behold a man with a measuring rod!

How can we see a profile of Jesus in this account of seeing a man with a measuring rod?

Jerusalem was being rebuilt! In Zechariah 2:1-13 the prophecy seems to show a surveyor with the measuring rod, surveying out vast territories of unwalled population of peace and prosperity. God's abundant blessings seem to fill the whole land with it's multitudes of people and livestock. They don't need walls because God is their wall of protection.

BUT we all know it didn't happen. it was not fulfilled to literal Israel. Why? Did God's promises fail?

God wanted to dwell in their midst, and had they lived in close relationship with Him, those promises would have been fulfilled!

Jesus, Who is God with God the Father (See John 1:1) promised to dwell in the midst of them!
Zech. 2:10-11 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.... and you shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

But they didn't believe that God the Father had sent Him!

John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:

So we see in this profile-- the picture of Jesus.
He wants to dwell in our midst.
When He dwells in our midst and all believe, then the land will be boarderless and all live in peace and happiness.

When

Well Jesus is measuring right now, vindicating all in whom Jesus dwells in righteousness and who are in saving relationship with Him. Those who turn away, and reject Him will find their "temple" desolate.

And in the future we find the one with the measuring tape once again in Rev. 21:15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. ....(22) the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.... (25) And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.


21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God.

One of the most powerful pictures of Christ is found in Zechariah chapter Three.

There we see Joshua, who was chosen to be the earthly priest. But he is filthy, sinful. How can such a man be a servant of the living God.
Beside Joshua stands the prosecutor attorney, with a long record of all Joshua's sins. He has a lot of evidence against Joshua and he levels his accusation day and night against Joshua. Joshua will surely be judged guilty and totally unworthy.

But Joshua has chosen a powerful Advocate! One who is more than a match for Satan. He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb. 7:23) He gave His life, the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, pledged to take our sins, and ratified that covenant at the cross.

"And the Lord said to satan; The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?

And then the Lord says "Take away the filthy garments from him. and I will clothe him with rich robes."

In the historical context the Israelites had returned from captivity, like a brand plucked from the fire, and restored to their homeland. They had gone into captivity because of their unfaithfulness to God, and now they were given a new chance, to be clean and a holy people unto God. Satan was on hand to discourage and harass them and make them doubt God and forsake their commitment to God.
But God had chosen Jerusalem and rebuked Satan and promised them;
"If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command then you shall also judge my house and likewise have charge of my courts,

Yet there is a much broader meaning here.

""Joshua, standing before the angel of the Lord with defiled garments, represents our faulty life. We have been overcome by Satan's temptations, and are unworthy of God's favor.
Humans stand before God with defiled garments. All their righteousness is "as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). Satan stands there mocking them with his masterly accusing power, pointing to their imperfections as evidence of their unworthiness. He points scornfully at the mistakes of those who claim to be God's people and seeks for permission to destroy them.

But they trust in Christ, and Christ will not forsake them. He came to this world to take away their sins, and to impute to them His righteousness. He declares that through faith in His name they may receive forgiveness, and perfect Christlike characters. They have confessed their sins to Him, and have asked for pardon, and Christ declares that because they look to Him and believe on Him, He will give them power to become sons and daughters of God.

Their characters are defective, but because they have not trusted in their own merits nor excused their sins, and they have asked for forgiveness through the merits of Christ, the Lord receives them, and rebukes Satan. Because they have humbled themselves, confessing their sins, He has abundantly pardoned the penitent ones, and will carry forward in them His work of redeeming love if they will continue to believe in Him and to trust Him. {taken from Letter 173, Aug. 5, 1903}

?Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.? ?So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments.? Even so will all those who come to Jesus in penitence and faith receive the robe of Christ's righteousness. {HS 155.4}
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