Zechariah 13

Zechariah 13:4

Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive;

I have to admit, I'm a bit unclear on this passage.  I can't tell if it's saying true prophets will be ashamed of their prophecies, or if false prophets will be ashamed of their lies.  If it's the latter, than this is a very good thing, for they recognize their wrongdoing.

However, if it's the former, then this is a very bad thing.  The people God has entrusted with His message aren't telling it to the people who need to hear it more than anything.  I believe that elsewhere in the Bible, it says those who have news and do not speak it are under a special level of curse.

Zechariah 12

Zechariah 12:10

"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.

Again, I'm amazed I don't know this verse exists.  This seems to point straight towards what will happen to Christ.  How is it this isn't referenced more in anything I can recall reading?

Maybe part of the reason is because this is really referring to a still-future event.  This is about the end times, probably Armageddon.  It will be a time when Christ returns, and no one can doubt Him or what He did or what happened to Him anymore.

Zechariah 11

Zechariah 11:13

Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them."  So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the LORD.

Is it just me, or is this prophesying the way that Christ would die?  He was sold out for 30 shekels of silver, but then that silver was cast back to the priests in the Temple.  And wasn't the field he bought called the Potter's Field?

So, why haven't I heard about this verse before in studying the Bible?  People are always crawling over themselves looking for prophecies in the Old Testament, and how nobody would have identified them before.  I can't believe that I found something new, so am I just radially misinterpreting this, or is there some other reason it's not come up?

Zechariah 10

Zechariah 10:1

Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the spring rain--
The LORD who makes the storm clouds;
And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man.

Two things jump out at me here.  First, God will provide.  He will give the people what they need to continue on, if asked.

Second, they need to ask in the right time.  Don't ask for rain in the summer, or the winter when the crops are not there.  Instead, ask for rain in the spring, when it's needed to water the new crops, and God will give you that rain and the crops that they feed.

Zechariah 9

Zechariah 9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

 I believe that this verse is quoted as confirmation at Christ's triumphal entry.  Seeing it in context, I think I understand it better.  I always wondered a bit why they expected Him to come and kick out the Romans, when His entire ministry had been peaceful and non-violent.

This verse is in the middle of a chapter talking about how God is going to destroy all their enemies.  They put two and two together, and expected a warrior king, one who would make good on all those ancient promises again.  They didn't realize that the defeats had already happened, and Christ was coming to bring peace within, not struggle outside.

Zechariah 8

Zechariah 8:6

Thus says the LORD of hosts, "if it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?' declares the LORD of hosts.

I'm not quite sure how to answer this question.  My first instinct is that there is nothing too difficult for God.  Therefore, even if the people can't believe it's possible, that doesn't stop Him from being able to do it.

On the other hand, God often did not do things the people thought were impossible.  Could the people's lack of faith cause Him to stay His hand?  Might He hold off remaking Jerusalem, because the people think things are so bad that He can't do it?

Zechariah 7

Zechariah 7:9

"Thus has the LORD of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother;

God gave the people a very simple command.  They were to be just, but compassionate.  If everyone agrees on what constitutes justice, it's actually a pretty straightforward direction to follow and obey.

However, we are very good at disagreeing about what should constitute justice, and how one should be compassionate.  Even in the church today, there's widespread disagreement on what these can mean.  Just because something is simple, doesn't make it easy.

Zechariah 6

Zechariah 6:8

Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, "See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north."

What were the horsemen doing, that appeased God's wrath?  The text doesn't say anything one way or the other.  I find this kind of worrisome, because other passages point to a bad answer.

The only other reference to horsemen I can recall is in Revelation, where they brought war, and plague upon the places they visited.  In that case, it's possible God's wrath is appeased because there have been many deaths, enough to balance the scales.  But in order to balance those scales, almost all of those people would already be dead.

Zechariah 5

Zechariah 5:4

I will make it go forth," declares the LORD of hosts, "and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who wears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones."

I wonder why these particular sins were singled out for special punishment in this prophecy.  Was it because God sees them as particularly bad?  I can understand that for swearing falsely against Him, but what makes theft especially bad?  I'm not saying it isn't bad, but why does it rank above, say, violence?

Maybe instead, these two were singled out because they were a particular problem at the time?  If God had become so unimportant that people swore on Him falsely, that would both damage His importance and degrade trust overall.  And if people were stealing constantly, maybe a shock to the system was needed to bring people to see the error of their ways.

Zechariah 4

Zechariah 4:5

So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, "Do you not know what these are?"  And I said, "No, my lord."

This is one of those moments where tone of voice would be very helpful in interpreting the passage.  Was the angel's question in a testing tone, where he may have been able to figure it out himself?  Or was it in a teasing or mocking tone, where he should have known the answer already?

Either way, Zechariah didn't try to guess, or figure it out, which was probably wise.  This deep into metaphor and vision, any guess would have been just that, and logic doesn't always apply.  Asking was probably the correct move; I just wish the answer had been equally straightforward.

Zechariah 3

Zechariah 3:4

He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying,"Remove the filthy garments from him."  Again he said to him, "See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes."

God has the ability to make something holy.  I will admit to not quite understanding how that works, given that the material world is entirely fallen.  By my logic, it can't be purified to God's standard, without contaminating God.

But if God says something is clean, it's clean; that's why He's sovereign and perfect and I'm not.  And should God declare someone righteous, he is righteous.  I still have a lot of trouble remembering that in my head, for my sense of justice conflicts with God's declaration of mercy through Christ.

Zechariah 2

Zechariah 2:11

"Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people.  Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of host has sent Me to you.

I wonder, is this talking about Christians?  Is that how many nations become His people?  Or os the meaning more literal, and several nations will merge with Israel somehow?

Either way, God coming to dwell again in Jerusalem is a big deal.  The idea that He would again come personally among the people would give the Jews enormous hope.  However, the question again arises of when this is, because it could very well be referring to the Millennium, or even the New Jerusalem.

Zechariah 1

Zechariah 1:6

But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers?  Then they repented and said, 'As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.'"'"

God does not issue empty promises.  He may not be as quick to come down on sinners as some think He should, but He does fulfill His promises to them.  And for those Israelites, they were feeling the wrath of His promises for their misbehavior.

However, they realized what they'd done.  Maybe they had to be prompted, but they did accept that they had brought it on themselves.  So they cried out to God, and presumably changed their ways going forward.

Haggai 2

Haggai 2:4

But now take courage, Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD, 'take courage also, all you people of the land take courage,' declares the LORD, 'and work; for I am with you,' declares the LORD of hosts.

God gives two instructions in this verse.  First, he tells the people to have courage.  Things have been tough for them recently, but they need to persevere because that's almost over.

Second, He tells them to do the work.  Just because times are bad, doesn't mean one can shirk the things that need to be done.  They've been given a task by God, and He is with them to complete it.

Haggai 1

Haggai 1:10

Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce.

The people had been getting by, but life had been tough.  However, they were making it, and they were satisfied with that.  However, God wasn't.

He was unhappy that the people had left the Temple to rot, while they had built themselves decent houses.  Therefore, He had decided to get their attention by the best way they would understand:  deprivation.  He decided to cause a drought to motivate them to complete the work He had told them to do.

Zephaniah 3

Zephaniah 3:5

The LORD is righteous within her;
He will do no injustice.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He does not fail.
But the unjust knows no shame.

This is a very good description of God, and of man.  God is perfect, and the standard of everything.  He is able to judge us all because He sets the standard; He is that standard.  And while He is also merciful and therefore doesn't always instantly punish those who fail, He does judge in time.

However, we people are nowhere near as consistent or upright as Him.  We fail to uphold His standards, many times.  What's worse, too often we don't feel bad when we do wrong, and instead even flout our transgressions.  However, that never goes well in the long run.

Zephaniah 2

Zephaniah 2:3

Seek the LORD,
All you humble of the earth
Who have carried out His ordinances;
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Perhaps you will be hidden
In the day of the LORD's anger.

A bit apocalyptic, but not inaccurate.  We are called to seek God, to be humble and righteous.  We are supposed to obey His commands and do the things He has told us to.

However, the reason here is insufficient.  Were this all we had, we'd think that all our good work may not be enough.  It's right, without Christ, but we also should remember that bad things can happen to good people.  Just because we obey God, it doesn't mean that we will be spared from all that happens in a fallen world.  We have to trust that no matter what happens, God will take care of us regardless, even if that means calling us home.