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Zechariah 1

Zechariah 1 serves as the introductory chapter to the prophecies of Zechariah, set during a period when the Jewish people were struggling with the rebuilding of the temple and revitalizing their spiritual life after returning from Babylonian exile. This chapter begins with a call to repentance, followed by a series of visions that provide both encouragement and warning to the people of Judah, urging them to turn back to God and rebuild the temple.

Zechariah 1:1-6 (NKJV)
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
2 “The Lord has been very angry with your fathers.
3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts.
4 “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.”’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.
5 “Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
6 Yet surely My words and My statutes, which I commanded My prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they returned and said, ‘Just as the Lord of hosts determined to do to us, according to our ways and according to our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’

The opening verses of Zechariah offer a stern reminder of God's past displeasure with the waywardness of the Jewish ancestors and a call for the current generation to return to Him. Zechariah emphasizes that God's messages through earlier prophets, urging repentance, were ignored, leading to the consequences experienced during the exile. The appeal is to learn from the past mistakes and understand that God's words are enduring and consequential.

Zechariah 1:7-11 (NKJV)
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet:
8 I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses, red, sorrel, and white.
9 Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.”
10 And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.”
11 And they answered the angel of the Lord who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly.”

In these verses, Zechariah describes his first vision featuring a man riding a red horse among myrtle trees, accompanied by other horses. This imagery is part of a symbolic representation showing that God's agents roam the earth to observe and report back. The report that the earth is at rest indicates a period of global calm, possibly suggesting that this is an opportune moment for the Jews to focus on their internal revival and temple reconstruction without external threats.

Zechariah 1:12-17 (NKJV)
12 Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You have been angry these seventy years?”
13 And the Lord answered the angel who talked with me with good and comforting words.
14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great zeal.
15 With great fervor I am angry with the nations at ease; for I was a little angry, and they helped—but with evil intent.”
16 Therefore thus says the Lord: “I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,” says the Lord of hosts, “and a surveyor’s line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem.”’
17 “Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and will again choose Jerusalem.”’”

This passage relays a conversation between the angel of the Lord and God, concerning the fate of Jerusalem and the cities of Judah. God responds with a promise of returning mercy, showing a renewed commitment to the prosperity of His people and anger towards the complacent nations that exploited their period of judgment. This message reassures the Jewish people of God's continued presence and favor, emphasizing the reconstruction of the temple and the revival of economic stability in Jerusalem and its surrounding areas.

Zechariah 1:18-21 (NKJV)
18 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there were four horns.
19 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” So he answered me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.
21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” So he said, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations which lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

The final verses of the chapter depict another vision involving four horns, which symbolize the powers that have oppressed and scattered the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. The subsequent appearance of four craftsmen represents forces that God will raise to overthrow and defeat these oppressors, symbolizing divine intervention and the restoration of the Jewish people. This vision serves as an assurance that those who have caused suffering will be dealt with, paving the way for a peaceful rebuilding of the nation.

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