In this episode, we delve into the book of Zechariah, highlighting its profound importance in the biblical chronicles. Learn about Zechariah’s role in revitalizing Jerusalem post-exile alongside contemporaries like Ezra and Nehemiah. We also reflect on personal Bible reading insights, drawing connections between Zechariah’s messages and our personal spiritual journeys. Discover why Zechariah remains a heavily quoted work throughout both the Old and New Testaments.
00:06:54 Journal Reflections on Zechariah Chapter 1
00:09:50 The Significance of Angels and Reflection
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Welcome to ADDBIBLE, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we begin the Old Testament book of Zechariah. According to my English Standard Version study book introduction, Zechariah was a prophet and a priest. He was part of the captives that returned to Jerusalem from Babylon with Zerubbabel in about 538 BC. This is the era of Nehemiah and Ezra as they rebuilt Jerusalem and the temple. They got discouraged and quit, and God sent prophets like Zechariah and Haggai to encourage them to get back to work. If the people will listen and turn back to the Lord, He would turn back to them, not only then, but also into the distant future. What to listen for in Zechariah? Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. One of those power verses in the Bible. What will happen when Messiah Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives? You know, of all the Old Testament books, Zechariah refers the most to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Predictions and descriptions of Christ’s crucifixion are in the book of Zechariah. Zechariah is one of the most quoted books of the Old Testament and the New Testament. About 54 passages are echoed in about 67 different places in the New Testament, mostly in the book of Revelation. We will be intrigued by the 14 chapters written for us by the prophet Zechariah. Our guest reader for the Book of Zechariah will be Brian Taylor, Vice President and General Manager of Salem Communications here in Denver, Colorado. They sponsor radio stations like 710 AM News Talk Radio and KRKS 94.7 FM. the Denver Christian Radio Station. Salem Communications Corporation is America’s leading Christian and conservative multimedia corporation serving millions of listeners nationally. Salem owns and operates 103 local radio stations across the United States. Brian leads the team here in Denver. He has had me on KRKS 94.7 several times to promote the Bible and daily Bible reading. He also introduced Dr. Henry Blackaby at one of our Ezra Project community events about 10 years ago. We are thankful for Brian and companies like Salem Communications. We will take the book of Zechariah one chapter a day. There’s 14 chapters in this book and we’ll begin by listening to Faith Comes by Hearing’s reading of Zechariah chapter 1. Zechariah.
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Zechariah 1. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying,
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The Lord was very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts, Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds. But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants, the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said,
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As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.
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On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse.
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He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red sorrel and white horses. Then I said, What are these, my lord? The angel who talked with me said to me, I will show you what they are.
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So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.
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And they answered the angel of the Lord, who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.
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Then the angel of the Lord said, O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah against which you have been angry these seventy years?
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And the Lord answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
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So the angel who talked with me said to me, Cry out, thus says the Lord of hosts, I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion, and I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease. For while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry out again, thus says the Lord of hosts. My city shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.
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And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns. And I said to the angel who talked with me, What are these?
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And he said to me, These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen.
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And I said, What are these coming to do? He said,
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These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.
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To help us through the book of Zechariah, I’ve chosen my personal Bible reading journals from 1991, 2001, and 2011. So, 10 years apart in various decades, we will look at what I got out of the book of Zechariah through my personal Bible reading journals. In 1991, I was 36 years old. Of course, that means I was 46 in 2001 and 56 in 2011. So again, different ages, different decades, different perspectives of the book of Zechariah. So let’s begin with my journal entry from 1991. In 1991, I read the first nine chapters of Zechariah in one day. So I made notes on all those chapters, and I wrote concerning chapter 1, Return to me, that I may return to you. In 2001, I was reading the whole Bible that year, so I was reading Old Testament passages and New Testament passages on each day. So on this day, I read Zechariah chapters 1 through 3, and part of the book of Revelation. I wrote about Zechariah, Don’t be like your fathers who walked away from me. Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you. In 2011, I was doing the same thing I did in 2001. I was reading the whole Bible that year, so I read the very same passages on this day, Zechariah 1-3 and Revelation 17. So concerning Zechariah chapter 1, I wrote, why is there a book of Zechariah? Because the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah as all others. And I was referring to verse 1. Men do not decide to proclaim. God’s word comes to them and they become messengers for God. And then I wrote, God always says, return to me and I will return to you. That verse I quoted in my other journal entries. And then I continued, angels are often involved in communicating to mankind. And I continued, God is coming back to Jerusalem again. I think this is about the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. So let’s cover just a couple of important points here in chapter 1 of the book of Zechariah. First, that point that I made about verse 1. The word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah. And that’s virtually the case in all of the prophets and all of God’s Word. As I mentioned in my journal, people don’t decide what God is saying. God comes to them, and they become messengers of the Lord to the people then and to us today as we read God’s Word. Verse 7 reiterates this very thought very specifically. It says on the 24th day of the 11th month, which is the month of Shabbat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah. So as we read this prophet, let’s all remember that these words are of the Lord. Zechariah creates the setting for this book. In verse 2 he says, The Lord was angry with your fathers. In verse 4 he says, Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out. Thus says the Lord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds. But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants and prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? When we think of God, do we think of God getting very angry? Oh yes, we know God is love. And God is a God of love, grace, and mercy. But he’s also a God who gets angry with evil and evil deeds. He cries out to the people of Israel, Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you. And it’s the same cry today for you. If you’ve been away or you’re straying away from the Lord, return to him and he will return to you. In verse 9, Zechariah says, the angel who talked with me. Do you believe in angels? Angels appear throughout the scriptures. Here, an angel is directly communicating with Zechariah. And the angel brings good news. Verse 16 says, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it. And then again in 17 he says, As I referred to in the book introduction, this is the era when Nehemiah goes back to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and Ezra the priest also comes back from Babylon back to Jerusalem to rebuild the spiritual condition of the city of Jerusalem. Zechariah is saying it’s time. The Lord is here. He wants to rebuild Jerusalem. He wants to rebuild his temple. He’s encouraging those who’ve come back from captivity in Babylon, back to Jerusalem, to rebuild their spiritual relationship with God. The application from today’s chapter is that very verse I quoted in all three journals. Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you. Have you strayed from the Lord? Have you been away from the Lord? Return to Him, and He guarantees that He will return to you. He will come back into your life with mercy and with prosperity as you build your relationship with him. Father, we thank you for your promises in your word. We thank you that over and over and over you call us to return to you. Let us do so, Lord, before you get very angry with us. Pour out your mercy, your prosperity, and your comfort on each one of us again. We know you love us. We also return our love to you. Bless us as we pursue your lessons in the book of Zechariah. For we ask it in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen. Thanks for listening to ADDBIBLE today. To produce 365 days of ADDBIBLE takes time and money. Thanks to a major donor, the first year was sponsored. That year ends September 30th. To continue ADDBIBLE, we now need your generous financial partnership. We pray you have been enjoying and benefiting from ADDBIBLE, a fresh new voice on Christian radio. If so, go to EzraProject.net right now and show your support with a financial contribution. We can’t do an all-day funding marathon, but we can appeal to you for the next few weeks and watch God work. Thank you for your prayerful consideration.
