Zechariah 1:1–17

Introduction

Zechariah 1:1–17: Zechariah’s prophecies date from the years 520 to 518 B.C. They are largely in the form of visions and deal with the restoration of Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the Temple, the purification of God’s people, and the messianic age to come. Today’s reading calls the people to return to the LORD and continues with Zechariah’s first vision (there are eight in all, recorded in chapters 1—6).

Today’s Key Verse: Zechariah 1:3 GNT

[The LORD said]: “… now I say to you, ‘Return to me, and I will return to you.’”

Read

1 In the eighth month of the second year that Darius was emperor of Persia, the Lord gave this message to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo. ² The Lord Almighty told Zechariah to say to the people, “I, the Lord, was very angry with your ancestors, ³ but now I say to you, ‘Return to me, and I will return to you. ⁴ Do not be like your ancestors. Long ago the prophets gave them my message, telling them not to live evil, sinful lives any longer. But they would not listen to me or obey me. ⁵ Your ancestors and those prophets are no longer alive. ⁶ Through my servants the prophets I gave your ancestors commands and warnings, but they disregarded them and suffered the consequences. Then they repented and acknowledged that I, the Lord Almighty, had punished them as they deserved and as I had determined to do.’”

⁷ In the second year that Darius was emperor, on the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat), the Lord gave me a message in a vision at night. ⁸ I saw someone riding a red horse. He had stopped among some myrtle trees in a valley, and behind him were other horses—red, dappled, and white. ⁹ I asked him, “Sir, what do these horses mean?”

He answered, “I will show you what they mean. ¹⁰ The Lord sent them to go and inspect the earth.”

¹¹ They reported to the angel: “We have been all over the world and have found that the whole world lies helpless and subdued.”

¹² Then the angel said, “Almighty Lord, you have been angry with Jerusalem and the cities of Judah for seventy years now. How much longer will it be before you show them mercy?”

¹³ The Lord answered the angel with comforting words, ¹⁴ and the angel told me to proclaim what the Lord Almighty had said: “I have a deep love and concern for Jerusalem, my holy city, ¹⁵ and I am very angry with the nations that enjoy quiet and peace. For while I was holding back my anger against my people, those nations made the sufferings of my people worse. ¹⁶ So I have come back to Jerusalem to show mercy to the city. My Temple will be restored, and the city will be rebuilt.”

¹⁷ The angel also told me to proclaim: “The Lord Almighty says that his cities will be prosperous again and that he will once again help Jerusalem and claim the city as his own.”

Reflect

This first vision is of horses and riders sent to inspect the earth. What do the riders observe? The seventy years (verse 12) is a round number for the years 586–520 B.C., corresponding roughly to the Babylonian exile. The exile ended in 538 B.C. and many of the people returned home to Judah but did not follow through on their promise to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. In 520 B.C. Zechariah joined the prophet Haggai in encouraging the people of Jerusalem to complete the work of rebuilding the Temple. Reread verses 13–17. What does the LORD promise? Have you ever felt God’s prompting to follow through on a promise? Is there something you need to rebuild in your life today?

Pray

All-Powerful God, you comfort us with your love and concern. When we stray, you mercifully call us back to you. Teach me your ways, O God, that I may learn to serve you with an obedient heart. Amen.

Tomorrow’s Reading

Matthew 5:1–12: Jesus teaches the crowds from a mountain.