Sermon
#38[1] Through The Bible Series
Title: Zechariah
― God Remembers
Text: Zechariah 4:7
Subject: The Message of Zechariah
Introduction:
It is ever the tendency of
preachers, when we think God’s people are becoming indifferent to the things of
God, careless in ordering their lives, and lax in the service of Christ, to
sternly scold them, threaten them with the whip of the law, or bribe them with
the promise of blessings. We know that God’s saints are no longer under the
law, but under grace. We know that the scoldings, threats, and bribes of
legality have no effect upon the hearts of men. Yet, when push comes to shove,
we are terribly prone to revert to the use of the law.
That ought never be the
case. It is Christ crucified, grace experienced, love manifest, and mercy
sure that draws our hearts after our God and Savior. Nothing inspires
devotion like devotion. Nothing promotes gratitude like grace. Nothing
motivates love like love.
God the Holy Spirit taught
these things to his prophet Zechariah; and Zechariah used them to inspire
Israel during the days of Haggai and Ezra to zealously devote themselves to the
building of God’s house in Jerusalem. He spoke to Israel about the sure
promises of God’s grace and mercy, his presence and power, and the glory that
God promised would come with Christ the Messiah. In these fourteen chapters, Zechariah
speaks of Christ’s first advent to redeem us with his blood, to put
away the iniquity of his people in one day by the sacrifice of himself (3:9),
and of his glorious second advent, declaring, “the Lord my God
shall come, and all his saints with thee” (14:5).
That is what the book of
Zechariah is all about ― Christ our God and Savior saving his people. Yes, this
prophecy was addressed to the Jews who had returned from Babylonian captivity;
but its message is to God’s people in this gospel day.
That
Day
The phrase “in that day”
is used by Zechariah 20 times. He uses this phrase 16 times in the last three
chapters. “That day” of which the prophet speaks is this gospel
age. It began with our Savior’s first advent and extends to the end of
the world when Christ comes again. In this day…
·
God pours out the Spirit of grace and supplication upon chosen sinners,
granting repentance to whom he will (12:10).
·
There is a Fountain opened (Christ crucified) for cleansing from sin
(13:1-2).
·
Though all the world fights against us, God’s church and kingdom is
perfectly safe and constantly triumphant, under his constant care and
protection.
·
And the purpose of God shall be fully accomplished in the end of the
day. ― God’s glory in Christ shall be seen in the final defeat of all his
foes and ours and in the complete salvation of all his people (14).
Can we be sure of these
things?
Indeed, we can, because the whole work is his work, the work of Christ our
Savior and our God, typified in mighty Zerubbabel (4:6-7, 9).
(Zec
4:6-7) “Then he answered and spake unto
me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by
might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (7) Who art
thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain:
and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying,
Grace, grace unto it.”
(Zec
4:9) “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid
the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt
know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.”
Divisions
Zechariah’s prophecy really
has just two divisions.
·
Zechariah 1:1-8:23 describe the circumstances of the people during the
building of the temple at Jerusalem, the present circumstances of Judah and
Israel.
·
Chapters 9-14 speak about the future, the things God would do once the
temple was finished.
Visions
The
book of Zechariah begins by reminding the people that it was the sin, rebellion
and unbelief of their fathers that brought them into Babylon. Wrath is
the response of justice to sin. It is never arbitrary. Yet, in wrath our God remembers
mercy. Look at the third verse of chapter 1. This is a word of grace
and assurance the Lord God told his prophet to tell the people. ― “Therefore say thou unto
them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts,
and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.”
After calling the people to repentance, the Lord gave his prophet eight visions to set before his people, visions full of comfort and encouragement.
1. Four horsemen
among the myrtle trees depict Israel
(God’s elect) scattered among the nations, but not forgotten (1:7-11). ― Zechariah’s
name means, “God remembers.”
2. Four horns are
used to portray the nations and their power; but along with these four horns
the prophet describes four carpenters (skilled craftsmen ― Gospel preachers)
as God’s agents of deliverance by whom the powers of the nations (the world)
shall be broken and subdued (1:18-21)
3. Then Zechariah speaks of a man with a
measuring line (2:1-13) measuring Jerusalem, the City of God (his
church), assuring God’s people of prosperity and glory beyond measure. This is
the similar to what Ezekiel describes in Ezekiel 40 and to what John describes
in Revelation 11. ― The presence of the
Lord, as a wall of fire round about his people, will make walls unnecessary
and the vastness of the City will make them impossible.
4. Then we see Joshua the high priest cleansed, clothed and crowned (3:1-5), as the Angel of the Lord stood by.
5. In chapter 4 Zechariah
describes Christ, the Light of the World, as he is displayed in
his church, portrayed in the vision of the golden candlestick.
6. The flying scroll
(5:1-4) is the Word of God by which he both rules and judges the world.
7. The woman with a
basket (“an ephah”) describes both the full measure of
wickedness for which God shall judge the earth, and the limitation of it by
God’s decree and power (5:5-11). — Understand this, my brother, my sister, and
be of good cheer. — There is never more evil in this world than our heavenly
Father has measured, controls, and overrules for the good of his people. — “Shall
there be evil in the city, and the Lord
hath not done it?” (Amos 3:6; Ps. 76:10).
8. In chapter 6 (vv. 1-8)
the prophet describes four chariots and the men riding in them as
four spirits of the heavens sent from the presence of the Lord to continually
patrol the earth and punish evil (Heb. 1:14).
Christ
There are more direct
prophecies of Christ in the book of Zechariah than in any other Old Testament
book, except Isaiah. Zechariah speaks of our Savior both directly and typically.
1. Christ is the Man
who measures his church (2:1-5). He is the only man who can. He alone
knows the number of God’s elect. And he is “unto her a wall of fire round
about, and will be the glory in the midst of her” (v. 5; Isa. 26:1; 9:8;
Isa. 60:19; Rev. 21:23).
2. Christ is the Angel
of the Lord who commands the salvation of his people (3:1-5; Rev. 10).
3. Christ is the
Servant of God whom he shall bring forth (3:8; Mark 10:45).
4. Christ is called “the
BRANCH” (3:8; 6:12; Luke 1:78). Our Savior is frequently called “The
Branch” of the Lord (Isa. 4:2; Jer. 23:5), beautiful, glorious, fruitful,
righteous and strong, brought forth for the salvation of his people.
5. It is our great Redeemer
who is the all-seeing Foundation Stone upon which God’s church
and kingdom is built (3:9; 1 Cor. 3:10-11; 1 Pet.
2:6-8).
(Zec
3:9) “For behold the stone that I have
laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will
engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity
of that land in one day.”
6. It is our all-glorious
God and Savior, of whom the prophet speaks, when we read in verse 9 of chapter
3, “I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.”
7. Christ our Savior
is typified in Zerubbabel (4:6-9).
(Zec
4:6-9) “Then he answered and spake unto
me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by
might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (7) Who art
thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain:
and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying,
Grace, grace unto it. (8) Moreover the word of the LORD came unto
me, saying, (9) The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this
house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of
hosts hath sent me unto you.”
8. The Lord Jesus
Christ is our Priest upon his Throne, our Priest and King, who builds
his temple, bears the glory of it, and maintains the counsel of peace for us
(6:13; Heb. 6:20-7:1).
(Zec
6:13) “Even he shall build
the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall
sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his
throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”
Read Zechariah 9:9-12.
(Zec
9:9-12) “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he
is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding
upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (10) And I will
cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle
bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the
heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to
sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. (11) As
for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy
prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. (12) Turn
you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I
declare that I will render double unto thee.”
9. Christ is that King
who came in humility, riding upon an ass’s colt (Matt. 21:4-5; John
12:14-16).
·
He is just, having salvation.
·
He speaks peace to the heathen.
·
His dominion is from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the
earth an everlasting dominion (John 17:2).
·
It is by the blood of his covenant that the prisoners of hope go forth
from their prison.
·
He renders to his own double for all their sins (Isa. 40:2).
10. He is the Lord our
God who shall save his flock and make us stones in the crown of his
glory (9:16).
(Zec
9:16) "And the LORD their God shall
save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the
stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land."
11. It is Christ who
was betrayed by his own friend (11:12-13; Matt. 27:9).
(Zec
11:12-13) “And I said unto them, If ye
think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for
my price thirty pieces of silver. (13) And the LORD said unto me,
Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I
took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the
house of the LORD.”
12. His hands were
pierced in the house of his friends (12:10; John 19:37).
13. Christ is the
Fountain opened for cleansing (13:1; Rev. 1:5).
(Zec
13:1) “In that day there shall be a
fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for
sin and for uncleanness.”
14. Zechariah even
presents our Savior in his dual nature as the God-man. In 6:12, he is
called the Man. In 13:7 he is Jehovah’s fellow, slain by the sword of justice
in our place.
(Zec
6:12) “And speak unto him, saying, Thus
speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The
BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of
the LORD:”
(Zec
13:7) “Awake, O sword, against my
shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of
hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn
mine hand upon the little ones.”
15. Zechariah saw Christ as the Good Shepherd whose life was given for the sheep, whom he came to save (13:7).
16. Then (14:4-9) God’s prophet speaks of our Savior’s glorious second advent.
(Zec
14:4-9) “And his feet shall stand in
that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the
east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east
and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of
the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
(5) And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley
of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled
from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my
God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (6) And it shall
come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
(7) But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor
night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be
light. (8) And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall
go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them
toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. (9) And the
LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and
his name one.”
Grace
Zechariah’s prophecy is full
of Christ and, being full of Christ, it is full of pictures of God’s saving
grace in Christ.
Zechariah 3:1-5 gives us a
tremendous picture of God’s grace displayed in the experience of conversion. Joshua the high priest of
Israel stands before us in these verses as a picture of every sinner who is
chosen, redeemed, called and converted by the grace of God in Christ. And the
Angel of the Lord standing by is
our all-glorious Savior and Advocate, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Obviously, our Savior is not
one of the angelic hosts that he created. He is called “the Angel of the Lord,” because he is Jehovah’s
Messenger, the Angel of the covenant. This One who is called, “the Angel of
the Lord” in verse 1, is
Jehovah himself. We know that because he is called, “the Lord” (Jehovah) in verse 2. This
Man who is God, the Angel of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, is our almighty
Advocate and effectual Intercessor (Heb. 7:24-27; 1 John 2:1-2).
(Zec
3:1-5) “And he showed me Joshua the high
priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right
hand to resist him. (2) And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke
thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not
this a brand plucked out of the fire? (3) Now Joshua was clothed with
filthy garments, and stood before the angel. (4) And he answered and
spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments
from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass
from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. (5) And I
said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon
his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.”
In chapter 8 (vv. 7-13) we see a prophecy regarding the sure salvation of
God’s elect. The Lord God declares, “Behold, I will save my people;”
and save them he will. He promises to make himself the God of his chosen “in
truth and in righteousness” ― in accordance with the truthfulness of
his own covenant, oath, promise and character, and in perfect righteousness by
the sacrifice of Christ. He promises to make his people prosperous and to make
his elect remnant possessors of all things (1 Cor. 3:21-23), and to make them
who were “a curse among the heathen…a blessing.”
(Zec
8:7-8) “Thus saith the LORD of hosts;
Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
(8) And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in
righteousness.”
(Zec
8:12-13) “For the seed shall be prosperous;
the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the
heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to
possess all these things. (13) And it shall come to pass, that as
ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so
will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your
hands be strong.”
In Zechariah 9:12-16 the Lord’s promise of salvation to his elect is
expanded.
He promises his “prisoners of hope” that he will give them “double”
(v. 12). I take that to mean the same thing promised in the gospel message in
Isaiah 40:1-2. ― God in Christ gives believing sinners “double”
for all their sins. He gives pardon and forgiveness; and he gives justification
and righteousness. Then, he makes worthless sinners saved by almighty grace
instruments of great usefulness in his hands, each one “as the sword of a
mighty man” (v. 13; 1 Cor. 1:26-29), and promises that they shall be stones
in the crown of his glory (v. 16; Isa. 62:3; Eph. 2:7).
(Zec
9:12-16) “Turn you to the strong hold,
ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double
unto thee; (13) When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with
Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made
thee as the sword of a mighty man. (14) And the LORD shall be seen over
them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall
blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. (15) The
LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling
stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they
shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. (16) And
the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for
they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his
land.”
In the 10th chapter (vv. 6-8) Zechariah’s prophecy speaks
of God’s saving grace as the effectual, irresistible operation of his
omnipotence. The Lord promises not only to “hiss” for them, but
also to “gather them.” Grace is not merely the hissing for, but
also the gathering of God’s elect. Every redeemed sinner shall be
gathered into the fold of mercy.
(Zec
10:6-8) “And I will strengthen
the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I
will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they
shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD
their God, and will hear them. (7) And they of Ephraim shall be
like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea,
their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in
the LORD. (8) I will hiss for them, and gather them;
for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have
increased.”
Chapter 12 (v. 10) tells us how it is that lost, dead, helpless sinners
who will not and cannot look to Christ in faith of their own accord are made to
believe by the operation of God’s grace. God pours out His Spirit upon his elect, as “the
Spirit of grace and supplications.” When he does, Christ is revealed and
the sinner looks to him in repentance and faith.
(Zec
12:10) “And I will pour upon the house
of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall
be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”
God’s
Church
Zechariah describes the
church and kingdom of God in chapters 2 (vv. 11-13), 4 (v. 2), and 8 (v. 3).
Many commentators go to great lengths to try to prove their imagined theory
that God’s church is not to be found in the Old Testament. Precisely for that
reason, it is important to point out what should be obvious. It is certainly
true that the Old Testament prophets did not clearly see the full meaning of
all that they wrote by inspiration (1 Pet. 1:10-12). However, Zechariah, like
many others gives an unmistakable prophetic picture of God’s church, family and
kingdom being made of chosen sinners from many nations, in the midst of whom
the Lord dwells. These blessed people, a multitude that no man can number, out
of every nation, kindred, tribe and tongue are the Lord’s own peculiar portion
in the earth.
(Zec
2:11-13) "And many nations shall be
joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the
midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto
thee. (12) And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy
land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. (13) Be silent, O all flesh,
before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation."
God’s church is his candlestick in this dark world (Zech. 4:2). It is the
church of God that is the instrument by which he upholds and from which he
causes to shine the Light of the world. His church is his candlestick in the
earth (Rev. 1:13). Particularly, each local assembly of blood-bought sinners,
saved by his omnipotent grace is the means by which the Lord our God maintains
the light of the gospel in the world from one generation to another until the end
of time (1 Tim. 3:15).
(Zec
4:2) "And said unto me, What seest
thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold,
with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to
the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof."
His
holy mountain, the mountain of the Lord of hosts, that Jerusalem which is “a
city of truth” (8:3), is “the church of the living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth.”
(Zec
8:3) "Thus saith the LORD; I am
returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem
shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy
mountain."
Anti-christ
Zechariah 11:16-12:9 speak
of God sending an idol shepherd, the man of sin, anti-christ (2 Thess. 2:8) and
the opposition of all the world against his church in that great battle that
shall rage until our King comes again (Armageddon). But the Lord God declares,
“I will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (12:8).
Hell
In Zechariah 14:12-13 we
learn something about the everlasting torments of the damned, those who have
opposed our God, his Christ, his gospel, and his people.
(Zec
14:12-13) “And this shall be the plague
wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against
Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and
their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume
away in their mouth. (13) And it shall come to pass in that day, that
a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold
every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the
hand of his neighbour.”
Oh, what a place of
darkness, woe, and agony beyond description that must be in which there is
nothing but everlasting, constantly increasing hatred of men and women for one
another, each blaming the other for his torment!
The
Feast of Tabernacles
In 14:16-21 the Lord God
tells us a little bit about the glory that shall be ours when Christ comes
again, and the Feast of Tabernacles (The Feast of Faith in Christ) is ours
forever.
(Zec
14:16-21) “And it shall come to pass, that
every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem
shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and
to keep the feast of tabernacles. (17) And it shall be, that whoso
will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to
worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. (18) And
if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there
shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up
to keep the feast of tabernacles. (19) This shall be the punishment of
Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of
tabernacles. (20) In that day shall there be upon the bells of the
horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like
the bowls before the altar. (21) Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in
Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice
shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be
no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.”
The feast was kept by the
Jews in remembrance of their wilderness journey, when they dwelt in tents. It
typified of Christ’s incarnation, who was made flesh, and tabernacled among us.
Spiritually, we keep this feast by trusting Christ, by believing that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh. We keep the feast now; but in heavenly glory we
shall keep it perfectly, ever feeding upon our Savior, ever rejoicing in him.
When the tabernacle of God is with men, when the beast is destroyed, when
Babylon is fallen, when at last we are triumphant forever over the world, the
flesh, and the devil, we shall shall worship the King, the Lord of hosts with our brethren out of
all the nations of the earth, and “keep the feast of tabernacles!”
Child of God, read the
promises of God your Savior, and begin now to enjoy the glory that soon shall
be yours in perfect fulness. This 14th chapter tells us of heaven’s
glory and blessedness by telling us some things that shall not be there. When
Christ comes and glory begins, there shall be no more…
·
Darkness (vv. 6-7)
·
Winter (v. 8)
·
Thirst (v. 8)
(Zec
14:6-8) “And it shall come to pass in
that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: (7) But
it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but
it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. (8) And
it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem;
half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in
summer and in winter shall it be.”
·
Unbelief – We will worship and keep the feast (v. 16).
·
Sin ― Every pot, every gift, every service, even the bells on the
horses will say, “Holiness unto
the Lord!”
·
And there shall be no more Canaanite ― No Enemy!
Illustration: “Bury me with a fork in
my hand.”
[1] Date: Danville—Tuesday Evening—January 20, 2004
Rescue, CA—(Friday PM 01/30/04)
Tape # Y-1a
Readings: Bob Pruitt and Bob Duff