Zech. 1:13,17 And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words....the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.

Life in this world throws a lot of discouraging things at people. Those returned exiles were discouraged and disheartened. They did have a desire to know and worship God, but conditions seemed to work against them. That's how it is with many of us today.
What they needed most at this particular time were kind words of comfort and encouragement.

And God gave them good and comforting words.

Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, say your God.
40:2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem...her iniquity is pardoned:
40:28 Have you not known? have you not heard, the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
40:29 He gives power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increases strength.
40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

A Jealous God?

Zechariah 1:14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, This says the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Zechariah 8:2 This says the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

Compare with
2 Cor 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ.
Deut. 5:9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God

We tend to understand the word "jealous" as a sinful, selfish passion.
But God is not in any way connected to sinful passions. His awesome love is the very opposite to selfishness, so what is meant by these verses?
It is a strong emotional word and denotes strong emotions.

It needs to be understood in the light of God's great love for us, so great that
"God so loved the world that He gave (not just sent but gave) His only begotten Son that Whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, God didn't give His Son to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

All through the gospels (especially in the book of John) we realize that Jesus is the life, the hope, the peace. He is everything we need to have hope and life. We see Jesus pleading, and weeping, saying "how can I give you up", "how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! " and now you face desolation. " If you had known, even you, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes." (Matt. 23:37, Luke 19:42, Hosea 11:8)

God's jealous is due to His great love, His great desire to save and restore and give life, peace and happiness. He knows that apart from him, we have only trouble, sorrow and eternal death.

His jealousy reveals the intensity of His love toward His erring people. He is not going to be indifferent, He will be personally involved in winning us back, offering salvation, even giving His life to redeem us, calling us to turn to Him and find the hope, life, love and peace only He can give. He is not going to sit back and simply let sin devour us.
Yet, in all that, He will not force us to come to Him, our rejection of Him causes Him to weep. He has no pleasure whatsoever in the destruction of the wicked. He would save them if only they were willing.
God hates sin, for it destroys His beloved people, and their clinging to sin causes them to reject life in Him, and only leads them into misery and desolation.
Someday, sin will be destroyed forever.

profiles of Jesus in Zachariah

So far --
*Jesus is very present with His people
*Jesus brings Words of comfort and encouragement
*Jesus calls His people to repent, turn away from the sins that have caused them so much misery and given the "enemy" access to do them get harm. Turn to Him and He will be their God and Savior.
*Jesus calls His people to "look up", look beyond the mundane activities of earth, look up and keep Christ and His promises, care, commands and love in focus.

*Jesus speaks comforting words bringing comfort and hope for the future.
*Jesus is jealous for our loyalty and love, He loves us too much to passively give us over to the dark and evil suitor who only seeks our destruction.

And what about those
HORNS?

1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
1:19 And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these?

The word HORN occurs in many places in scripture. Symbolically it refers to political power, kings, kingdoms (Daniel 7, Rev 17) It can also mean strength, boldness and even arrogance (Ps. 75:4-5, 132:17)

The angel tells Zechariah the horns here symbolize "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. "

Who are these four horns? Bible scholars are divided, some turn to Ezekiel 25 and point to nations that HAD been troubling Israel, like Moab, Edom, Ammon, Philistia. Others turn to Daniel 2 and 7 and point to the four empires (Babylon, Media Persia, Greek, Rome)

Ellen White simply writes:
" Next the prophet sees the powers that had "scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem," symbolized by "four horns." Immediately afterward he sees "four carpenters," representing the agencies used by the Lord in restoring his people and the house of his worship, as decreed by Cyrus and his successors, as well as by God himself. {RH, December 26, 1907 par. 12}

As we are seeking clearer pictures of Christ in Zechariah, the identity of the horns can be left for other studies. The picture of Christ that emerges here, is that He has His agencies, His craftsmen that are prepared to repair the damage done to His people by others with enough power to do considerable damage. Every era of time has it's horn powers making things difficult, yet Christ is there for His people in every era, with His words of encouragement and comfort, as His people look up to Him for their strength. He has the craftsmen who will repair what the horns seek to destroy.

Too often we may only see the first part of that vision. We see the horns, and they seem to be coming from all directions. We may become so obsessed and frightened by the horns that we fail to read the second part of the vision.

1:20 And the LORD showed me four carpenters... these are come to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
No matter how powerful those horns seem to be, remember Christ has powerful craftsmen as well, And we know we can trust in Him.

Zechariah 2:1
I looked and saw, behold a man with a measuring rod!

How can we see a profile of Jesus in this account of seeing a man with a measuring rod?

Jerusalem was being rebuilt! In Zechariah 2:1-13 the prophecy seems to show a surveyor with the measuring rod, surveying out vast territories of unwalled population of peace and prosperity. God's abundant blessings seem to fill the whole land with it's multitudes of people and livestock. They don't need walls because God is their wall of protection.

BUT we all know it didn't happen. it was not fulfilled to literal Israel. Why? Did God's promises fail?

God wanted to dwell in their midst, and had they lived in close relationship with Him, those promises would have been fulfilled!

Jesus, Who is God with God the Father (See John 1:1) promised to dwell in the midst of them!
Zech. 2:10-11 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.... and you 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.

But they didn't believe that God the Father had sent Him!

John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:

So we see in this profile-- the picture of Jesus.
He wants to dwell in our midst.
When He dwells in our midst and all believe, then the land will be boarderless and all live in peace and happiness.

When

Well Jesus is measuring right now, vindicating all in whom Jesus dwells in righteousness and who are in saving relationship with Him. Those who turn away, and reject Him will find their "temple" desolate.

And in the future we find the one with the measuring tape once again in Rev. 21:15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. ....(22) the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.... (25) And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.


21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God.

One of the most powerful pictures of Christ is found in Zechariah chapter Three.

There we see Joshua, who was chosen to be the earthly priest. But he is filthy, sinful. How can such a man be a servant of the living God.
Beside Joshua stands the prosecutor attorney, with a long record of all Joshua's sins. He has a lot of evidence against Joshua and he levels his accusation day and night against Joshua. Joshua will surely be judged guilty and totally unworthy.

But Joshua has chosen a powerful Advocate! One who is more than a match for Satan. He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb. 7:23) He gave His life, the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, pledged to take our sins, and ratified that covenant at the cross.

"And the Lord said to satan; The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?

And then the Lord says "Take away the filthy garments from him. and I will clothe him with rich robes."

In the historical context the Israelites had returned from captivity, like a brand plucked from the fire, and restored to their homeland. They had gone into captivity because of their unfaithfulness to God, and now they were given a new chance, to be clean and a holy people unto God. Satan was on hand to discourage and harass them and make them doubt God and forsake their commitment to God.
But God had chosen Jerusalem and rebuked Satan and promised them;
"If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command then you shall also judge my house and likewise have charge of my courts,

Yet there is a much broader meaning here.

""Joshua, standing before the angel of the Lord with defiled garments, represents our faulty life. We have been overcome by Satan's temptations, and are unworthy of God's favor.
Humans stand before God with defiled garments. All their righteousness is "as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). Satan stands there mocking them with his masterly accusing power, pointing to their imperfections as evidence of their unworthiness. He points scornfully at the mistakes of those who claim to be God's people and seeks for permission to destroy them.

But they trust in Christ, and Christ will not forsake them. He came to this world to take away their sins, and to impute to them His righteousness. He declares that through faith in His name they may receive forgiveness, and perfect Christlike characters. They have confessed their sins to Him, and have asked for pardon, and Christ declares that because they look to Him and believe on Him, He will give them power to become sons and daughters of God.

Their characters are defective, but because they have not trusted in their own merits nor excused their sins, and they have asked for forgiveness through the merits of Christ, the Lord receives them, and rebukes Satan. Because they have humbled themselves, confessing their sins, He has abundantly pardoned the penitent ones, and will carry forward in them His work of redeeming love if they will continue to believe in Him and to trust Him. {taken from Letter 173, Aug. 5, 1903}

?Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.? ?So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments.? Even so will all those who come to Jesus in penitence and faith receive the robe of Christ's righteousness. {HS 155.4}
,

Zechariah 3

The BRANCH

Zechariah 3:8 For behold I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH
Zechariah 3:9 For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon the stone are seven eyes.
Behold I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts. And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

In Jeremiah 23:5, the prophet Jeremiah promises a new king from David's line, saying, "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth....and this [is] his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. "

Isaiah 11:1 "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:"

This is a promise of the coming Messiah!
But why is He called a "branch" ? We know from John 15 that Jesus is the vine and we should be branches attached to Him, but why are these texts showing Jesus as the branch attached to humanity, coming up from the line of David?

We need to go back to Genesis.
God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the earth. (Gen 1:26)
The human race lost that dominion when they listened to the serpent, and disbelieved and disobeyed God.
Satan has claimed the dominion.

In Genesis 3:16 God gives the promise -- an offspring of the woman, (that is a special baby born of woman) Christ, as a Human Being, would live a perfectly righteous life, in full harmony with God the Father, and He would crush the head of the usurper, and stand at the head of the human race. Christ, the Son of God, would become human to win back the dominion for the human race.

That's why the BRANCH comes from the root of a human linage.
David was a type, but it wasn't enough, the REAL king who will forever sit on the "Throne of David" is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, when sin is finally fully gone.

King David was a type, a king who loved and served the God of heaven. But he was also a sinner in need of a Savior, just as much as Adam was. He could not "crush the head of the serpent".
BUT Jeremiah's prophecy promises that God will raise up for David a RIGHTEOUS Branch. "The Lord our Righteousness".

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
9:7 Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Jesus is vine come down from heaven. The living vine that unites us with God!
We are branches as well. Branches that need to be attached to this vine. To be attached is life and salvation! They are to bring forth fruits of righteousness.

Zechariah 3

THE STONE

Zechariah 3:9 For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon the stone are seven eyes.
Behold I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts. And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day

Matthew 21:42,44 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
21:44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

1 Peter 2:4,5 "As you come to Him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious in God?s sight, you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ"
1 Peter 2:6 "See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame"

Seven eyes
Rev. 5:6 there stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God

Zechariah's text is a promise this "stone" will come.

This is the foundation stone, the cornerstone of salvation. Upon this stone the whole plan of salvation rests. It is solid, bearing the full weight of redeeming all those "living stones" to build up the spiritual house for God.

Three of the four gospels quote Jesus saying he was ?the stone the builders rejected? when scribes and Pharisees were challenging His authority (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17).

The stone connotates God's law, God's will for us.
To fall upon this stone is to allow it to break sin out of our lives. We need to come to Christ, the Divine Stone, in humility confessing our sins and claiming His righteous power to cleanse us.

This stone has seven eyes, which represent the Holy Spirit which Jesus sends to refine and polish our characters.

Many refuse to accept this stone, it's the "corner stone" rejected. Why, because it claims authority, and that was satan's issue from the beginning. Not wanting God to have authority over him.

We must sense our need to be delivered from sin, then we will gladly "fall on the rock" wanting to be cleansed. Wanting to be shaped into living stones in the living spiritual house of God. If we come to that "stone" and submit to it's cleansing process, we will not be ashamed when Christ comes in the clouds of glory

Those who do not come to this corner stone, which represents Jesus our High Priest and Savior, and neglect the crucial requirement of salvation, they are not cleansed. When the stone comes again,(and we read about that stone coming again in Daniel 2), they will be crushed and lost.

Without accepting Christ as the foundation of life and the only way to salvation, seeking His cleansing, and follow Him in trust and obedience, people will stumble and fall under God?s judgment.
Jesus, isn't just one path in many leading to eternal life, He is the only One, and as to how we relate to this stone leads either to life or to destruction. This symbol emphasizes our free choice. The stone has been laid, the provisions for salvation are all in place, complete with inscription and the power of the Holy Spirit (seven eyes) , the promise is made that Christ will remove sin from the land, and now -- it all depends on a person?s response.

Jesus the shepherd

Zechariah depicts Christ as the good shepherd who cares for his flock.
He also describes the many false shepherds who were supposed to look after the flock, but neglect or exploit and confuse the sheep.

Zech. 10:2 For the idols have spoken vanity the seers have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore the flock wandered away, they were troubled, because there was no (true) shepherd.

Zech 11:3-5 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled...the pride of Jordan is spoiled....the flock is heading to slaughter...their own shepherds pity them not
Zech 11:17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaves the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

A true shepherd will appear but He will be rejected:

Zech 13:6 And [one] shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded [in] the house of my friends.
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.


In Zechariah 11:12-13, there is a prediction that the shepherd will be valued at thirty pieces of silver, a sum that is subsequently thrown down into the temple and used to procure a potters field.
We find this prediction fulfilled in Judas Iscariot?s betrayal of Jesus. (See Matt, 26:14-15, 27:3-10)


Too often in Biblical history as well as present day history people have such spiritual blindness they can not hear the sound of the voice of the true Shepherd, and follow the voice of a stranger, who leads them from the fold of Christ.

The rule of the foolish shepherds is depicted not only as an utter neglect, but as a consuming of the flock. In Zechariah we see the rise and rejection of the true shepherd.
But we also see that God allows, giving the life strength, to an ultimate false shepherd.

Zech 11:16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, [which] shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.

This is definately NOT the good shepherd. For Jesus, the Good Shepherd "
"came to seek and to save that which was lost". (Luke 19:10,)
He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds. (Psalms 147:3) ,
feeds His flock, (Matt. 6:26, Ps. 23:5)
and restores people from their brokenness. (Psalms 23:3)

So who is this shepherd in Zech 11:16 who does the opposite?
I think a parallel verse in 2 Thess. 2:11-12 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The warning is put in strong words. Because truth and the true shepherd is rejected, powerful false shepherds will have the power and charisma to mislead and deceive.
This powerful leader(s) who present themselves as God's messengers but are not preaching living truth.

But we want glimpses of Jesus. We need the True Shepherd Who cares for His sheep!
John records Jesus' words:
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep
10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
10:15 I lay down my life for the sheep.
10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10:10 I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.

TWO STICKS IN THE HAND OF THE PROPHET



In a time when the "sheep" were in sad circumstances with false shepherds over them plundering and misleading them, Zechariah is given two staves or sticks. He was to illustrate a prophecy with his actions.

Zech 11:7 And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
Beauty representing "grace", and Bands representing "unity".

It appears he was able to silence three of the false shepherds but it was a rather unappreciated win.

Zech 11:8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
There was hatred between their purposes and plans and what Zechariah was attempting to do. So much so that Zechariah took the stave of "Beauty" and chopped it into pieces.

Zech 11:9 Then said I, I will not feed you: let the dying ones, die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
Zech 11:10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.

The people with their false shepherds were rejecting the covenant of grace. They were rejecting the covenant which God had made to save them, to establish them, to ennoble and lift them from the turmoil of evil. The stave being broken into pieces illustrated that God cannot fulfill the covenant of promise to them if they reject it. God does not force. They will reap the result that rejection of God's saving grace brings.

Jeremiah 11:11-12 says the same thing: "the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. Therefore thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape.

As Zechariah broke that stave in pieces those who believed knew God was speaking:

Zechariah 11:11 and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.

It's at this point that the prophecy of Jesus' betrayal for thirty pieces of silver is given (Zechariah 11:12-13)

This part was seemingly also illustrated as Zechariah challenged the priestly leadership, asking them what the message from God meant to them.

Zechariah 11:12 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.

They actually gave Zechariah what they thought the value of his message was to them -- the price of a slave. An act showing that they considered it worthless, the lowest level of service.
Did they realize what they were doing?
Did Judas, later, realize he was selling his salvation for a few pieces of money, Did he realize what he was doing? Betraying the only hope for mankind for a pittance so temporary that money was worse than worthless. For Judas it brought such despair and feelings of guilt he couldn't even bare to live any longer. His resistance of God's grace brought him only terrible agony and eternal ruin.

Jesus, our good shepherd, though rejected by his own, even his own disciples forsaking him, went to the cross, for not all would reject Him, He would fulfil His part in the covenant promises, even if the majority thought the covenant worthless and would reject it and trample it. Yet for the sake of those who believed and would believe He suffered the death upon the cross.
The covenant is ratified, it is sure. He was lifted up upon the cross, His love is a power to draw all to Him, He has defeated the arch enemy, satan.
But sadly, many will throw it away as worthless and loose the amazing life giving, saving, provisions of grace.

Zech 11:14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

People cannot sit on the fence serving God and mammon. The sad truth is that those who in unbelief chose to cling to sin will be "branches" broken from the tree of Israel. (Romans 11:13-26)

The name "Israel" was given to Jacob that night when he was wrestling with God.

Forgiven and accepted, Jacob represents Israel, as anchored in Christ. It's not biological Israel, but an Israel in Christ.
The "tree" of Israel that will be saved is made up of branches from all nations of those who grafted into Christ. Romans 11:13-26
Gal. 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.