Greetings, fellow eschatologists! Did you think I forgot about you? I didn’t. I just took a little time off before we started a new series together. This time, I thought you would enjoy a study on the book of Zechariah. It’s an amazing book, filled with so many fascinating topics. In this post, we’re going to look at the historical events regarding Israel that preceded Zechariah’s prophecies. There’s a lot of information coming your way, so let’s get started!

ZECHARIAH
Prophet to the Returned Exiles
His End Time Prophecies

01 Introduction to Zechariah
By Karen Thompson

INTRODUCTION

In order to understand the book of Zechariah, you must know about the historical events regarding the nation of Israel that preceded Zechariah’s prophecies. We must go back in time to when the Lord judged His rebellious children for their sins of apostasy. His judgment came in the form of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar invading and conquering Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, killed thousands in the process, and captured King Jehoiachin. Nebuchadnezzar raided the temple and confiscated its most treasured items. He took captive thousands of Jerusalem’s most prominent citizens, skilled workers, and craftsmen, and brought them back to Babylon. In all, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem three times, finally setting the temple and city on fire and tearing down its gates and walls.

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that their exile would last 70 years, and afterward, the Lord would bring them back to Jerusalem: “For thus says the Lord: after seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place” (Jer. 29:10).

Decades later, the Medo/Persian Empire invaded and conquered the Babylonian Empire. Eventually, the Persian king, Cyrus the Great, issued an edict allowing the Jewish people who were living in exile in Babylon to return to Jerusalem. Ezra 1:1–4 says, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

The king’s statement in verse two is astounding: “The Lord God of heaven … hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” The Lord God of heaven gave Cyrus an assignment to build Him a temple! We are not told how the Lord communicated to Cyrus His desire for the temple in Jerusalem to be rebuilt. It most likely came to Cyrus in a dream, as that is the primary way the Lord communicated to people in the Old Testament.

It’s fascinating to know that two hundred years earlier, the prophet Isaiah prophesied that a king named Cyrus would, indeed, rebuild the temple. (Isaiah’s prophetic ministry was between 740–701 BC.) Isaiah prophesied, “That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid” (Isa. 44:28).

The Persian king’s first step of action was to commission Jerusalem’s former residents to join together with him to complete this divine appointment. Thus, the king issued a proclamation to commission whosoever of God’s people that wanted to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple were free to do so. The king charged the people throughout his kingdom to help in this assignment by supplying the returning exiles with gold, silver, goods, beasts, and whatever was needed to rebuild the temple.

Cyrus brought out the vessels from the treasure house that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple and gave them to the returning Jews so they could take them back to Jerusalem. The book of Ezra says approximately 50,000 people returned to Israel. Cyrus appointed Zerubbabel as governor over the Jews in Jerusalem.

The returning exiles were on a divine commission, sent by the Persian king himself to fulfill his commission from God to build a temple in Jerusalem. They were full of hope and expectation for a glorious return. They were expecting the fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah’s prophecies about the glorious re-gathering of the Jews back to Jerusalem. But their return was not a glorious one. They had a difficult time in trying to reestablish for themselves new lives in Jerusalem and its surrounding communities in Judah (present-day Israel).

Years went by and there were no attempts to rebuild the temple. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah received prophetic words from the Lord, urging the returned exiles not to delay the building project any longer. It’s at this point where the prophecies of Zechariah apply. Through Zechariah, the Lord gave words of encouragement to the returned exiles. In fact, encouragement and hope are the book’s central theme. Zechariah encouraged them to not only rebuild the temple but to repent of their sins and return to the Lord in their faith, obeying His commands and statutes. If they did so, God’s blessing would come to them through prosperity and increase. Part of Zechariah’s encouragement to rebuild the temple had to do with the coming of the Messiah. Zechariah prophesied Messiah’s victory over Israel’s enemies and His calling as both their Priest and as their King.

The book of Zechariah can be seen as two parts. The first part is a call for the people to repent and to come back to God, and it is filled with encouragement and hope. The second part is about salvation and deliverance. The primary theme of the first part of the book is encouragement due to the theme of the second part of the book which is the glorious plans God has in store for His people. 

Further study: The prophetic books of Zechariah, Haggai, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi all deal with the subject of the returned exiles to Jerusalem after the 70-year judgment.

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