Zechariah – In Context

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To read Zechariah, I think you need to put it in context with the Haggai and Ezra.  I know that Malachi has been put last in the Old Testament because of 4:5, that is about Elijah coming again, but it has no time stamps as to when it was written.  Haggai and Zechariah are time-stamped so it is very easy to believe that these were the last two prophets to write their visions and words from the Lord. (Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah were written after Haggai and Zechariah but they are “historical” books.)

Zechariah is written in two sections, which of course means someone has to say it has two different authors from two times!  The sections are chapters 1 – 8 and 9 – 14; 1 – 8 deal with the building of the Second Temple and 9 – 14 are independent “oracles” that could have come at any time during Zechariah’s time as a prophet.  This second section, to me, could be a recap of many of the Prophets before his time and the Father is restating and adding to words and ideas that have come before. I see Zechariah as a man “standing on the shoulders” of people who have come before him.

This seems to be the order of the timestamps that I was talking about:

  • 2y of Darius – Ezra 4:24 Starts his telling of the story about the building and the opposition to the Temple
  • 2y, 1d, 6m – Haggai 1:1; call to restart building the Temple

24d, 6m – Haggai 1:15; building starts again

  • 2y, 21d, 7m – Haggai 2:1; to encourage Zerubbabel
  • 2y, 8m – Zechariah 1:1; call to return to the Lord
  • 2y,24d, 9m – Haggai 2:10; was defiled now blessed

Haggai 2:18; blessings from this day on

Haggai 2: 20; encouraged Zerubbabel

  • 24d, 11m – Zechariah 1:7; various visions for the leaders and people
  • 4y, 4d, 9m – Zechariah 7:1; call to administer true justice and words of encouragement
  • 6y, 3d, 12m – Ezra 6:15 Temple completed
  • 7y, 14d, 1m – Ezra 6:19 Passover celebrated

Zechariah – The Prophet With A Family History

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The word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.  Zechariah 1: 1(NIV)

When you do a study on people in the Bible it is good to look at the meaning of their names, and like this study who was related to them.  Given the fact that names were given to later generations in honor of their forefathers, this can prove tricky to be as accurate as people want.  This study is one of those that could have several possibilities but I will try my best; please be merciful.  So, first, we will look at the meanings of the names and a common city that turned up with several of them.  (The numbers are Strong’s Concordance Hebrew references numbers.)

  • Zechariah (#2148) Jah (God) has remembered
  • Berekiah (#1296) knee or “blessing” of Jah
  • Iddo – (#5714, 3260, 3035, 112) 5714 – timely; 3260 – appointed or JEDI (for you Star Wars fans); 3035 – praised; 112 may be related to Edom or worshipper of Him. It seems that changing the spelling of the name happened for the same person.

Zechariah – There are many people with that name in the Bible, so not much there.

Berekiah – It seems there are two “major” families that share that name.

  1. A relative of King Jehoiakim – 1 Chronicles 3:20 and probably the family in Nehemiah 3:4, 30, and 6: 18. They rebuilt a portion of the wall and married into the family of a troublemaker for Nehemiah.
  2. A Levite from the tribe of Merarites from Mahanaim – 1 Chronicles 9:16, 15:17,23

Iddo – Other than “our” Zechariah there are four people(s) with this name.

  1. 1 Kings 4:14 and 1 Chronicles 27:21 talk about an Iddo from Mahanaim who was an administrator for Solomon.
  2. The seer who wrote down history and genealogies for Solomon and Abijah. 2 Chronicles 9:29, 12: 15, and 13: 22
  3. A leader of Levites that Ezra asked for help. 1 Chronicles 6:21 and Ezra 8: 17
  4. A priest whose son (Zechariah) went to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel. Nehemiah 12:4, 16

Mahanaim is a city that was east of the Jordan River.  It is first mentioned in the Bible as the place where Jacob wrestled the angel (Genesis 32: 2).  It was a “city of refuge” for people who accidentally killed someone.  This is where King Saul’s general, Abner, set up Saul’s last son, Ish-Bosheth, to reign as king. Finally, it is where King David went when he ran from Absalom.  It is easy to see that this was a town of some importance in the area of Gilead.  So, Mahanaim was either a fortified city that was very important on the edge of the kingdom or they were trying to use the Law as protection against those looking to harm them.

Can we know for sure exactly who was the family of Zechariah?  No, but I will go with this idea.  He was a Levite (not the priest) whose family had lived in Mahanaim and his grandfather had been the seer and administrator who worked for Solomon.  This would mean that he was part of a family that had served God for many generations as prophets; that is quite a family legacy.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Joel, Micah, Zechariah

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Zechariah 4: 6 Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.

These three prophets contain the last eight references to the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.  They may be few in number but they are very important shadows and references in the New Testament story.

Joel – Chapter 2: 28 + 29 are the verses Peter uses on the day of Pentecost and are very well known.

Micah – The verses here are 2: 7 and 3:8. These verses contrast true and false prophets; 2: 7 is the idea that false prophets were saying and 3:8 Micah describes himself (and Jesus) and reflects the statement in Isaiah 61: 1.

Zechariah – 4: 6, 6: 8, 7: 12, and 12:10.  With Zechariah, it is important to remember that he was a counterpart of Ezra and Haggai.  The first verse (4: 6) is for Zerubbabel, a descendent of David/Jesus who was rebuilding the Temple.  12: 10 is important because it mentions David’s son Nathan*, who is in Mary’s genealogy in Luke 3: 31, and talks about the “pierced one.”  For me the 6: 8 is the one that got my attention, so after some more studying it will be a post; it refers to the Spirit getting rest from those who have gone north (possibly the black horse.)

*  To be fair, I have always taken this to be Bathsheba’s son (1 Chronicles 3:5), but it may refer to Nathan the prophet that was with David for years.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Ezekiel

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Ezekiel 11:1 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the Lord that faces east. (NIV)

Ezekiel uses or refers to the “Spirit” thirteen times (that I found).  A major difference in this book is the terms Ezekiel uses for the interactions with the Spirit. His “came into” are bôw (#935 Strong’s) and râpal (#5307 Strong’s); both have many uses in Scripture and are used in some important verses: Bôw means to “enter” and râpal is “to fall on.”

Another interesting thing in Ezekiel is the number of times the Spirit “lifted or raised up” Ezekiel – eight times.  Some of these are in visions but even in some of those you get the feeling that God physically moved him, not just up but to different locations.  I found it helpful to read the entire reference (several verses before and after) that surrounds these verses: 2:2; 3: 12, 14, 24; 8:3; 11:1, 24(2x); 43:5.

The other references are 11:5, 36: 27, 37:14, 39:29, and show the working of the Spirit not only in Ezekiel but His future work in the Church.  Chapter 39 refers to the Spirit being poured out on people and Chapter 37 is the prophecy of the dry bones coming to life.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament – Isaiah

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A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse: from his roots, a Branch will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord- and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11: 1-3a (NIV)

This is the first mention of the Spirit in the Book of Isaiah, he will refer to the Spirit a total of thirteen times.  Other prophets talk about the Spirit, but Isaiah and Ezekiel have the most references to Him.  I feel this verse is important because it directly connects Jesus with the Spirit and adds a layer to the Spirit’s work not only in Jesus but in us.  It also introduces the gifts and working of the Spirit that we can see Him doing in the Church today.

Since I have stressed other verbs that have been used to describe the Spirit coming upon someone, we need to look at the one here for “will rest on.”  Nûwach (Strong’s #5117) is the word used and it carries the idea of “remaining,” which again if you think about it perfectly describes what happened in Jesus’ life.  This is not “the rest” or the stop working idea that is shabath that is used when God rested after creation.

(Please read the post about Jesse.  The imagery of a stump and roots would show that the family line of Jesse through David was all but dead at the birth of Jesus, but God is faithful to His promises.)

The remaining verses carry several themes as they paint a clearer picture of the Holy Spirit, His work, and His interaction with Jesus and us.  Obstinate children who look to Egypt for help is the theme of 30: 1 and the final three references of 63: 10 -14 are about the Children of Israel during the Exodus and their rebellion.

  • 30: 1, 32:15, and 34: 16 bring together several chapters that deal with going to Egypt for help instead of looking to the Spirit for help even though He has the power to change the landscape into a productive environment and He will keep the animals in their homes.
  • 32: 15 and 44: 3 state that the Spirit would be poured on His people and reflects the verse from Joel 2.
  • Who has understood the Spirit (mind) of the Lord and who has instructed Him 40:13 is part of the great chapter that transitions from woes and judgments to the good news of Jesus and the work of the Gospel.
  • 42:1, 44: 3, 48: 16, 59:21, 61: 1 all speak to Jesus and His earthly work and then go on to Pentecost and the Church.