Welcome back to our new end time series on the book of Zechariah, prophet to the returned exiles. Zechariah’s prophecies are fascinating in that you can see certain repeating themes throughout its chapters. For me, the most fascinating theme in the book of Zechariah is that all throughout the book, you will see the “king and priest” combo repeated. It’s Zechariah who prophesies that Messiah will stand in both offices of king and priest at the same time. In our study together, you’ll learn why that is not normal. Ready? Let’s get started!

ZECHARIAH
Prophet to the Returned Exiles
His End Time Prophecies

First in a Three-Part Series
By Karen Thompson

A CHANCE AT A NEW BEGINNING

When the exiles in the first group returned to Jerusalem in 536 BC, their effort to reestablish the area was much more difficult than they had expected it to be.¹ They worked hard at rebuilding their lives, but many of them struggled just to stay alive. As a result, they hadn’t given any attention to the task of rebuilding the temple. During this time, the prophets Zechariah and Haggai both ministered to the returned exiles. Through Haggai, God issued a rebuke to the governor, Zerubbabel, and the high priest, Joshua, and the returned exiles for not putting Him first in their lives.

Haggai tells us the time he received this prophetic word was, “In the second year of King Darius…” (Hag. 1:1) King Darius I, son of Hystaspes, ruled 522–486 BC, which dates this prophecy 520 BC. This prophetic word came 16 years after they had returned to Jerusalem.³ Haggai chapter one says, “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes” (Haggai 1:1–6).

The Lord addressed the fact that even though they had been in Jerusalem for a number of years, they had not yet even begun to restore the holy temple. They were building their own homes first. They had decided that after they were done building their own homes, they would then work on the temple. They were saying it just wasn’t the right time to build the temple. Now God was saying back to them, “Is it time for you to live in your houses with ceilings and for My house to lie yet in ruins?”

The Lord said, “Consider your ways.” They were to consider the fact that they were planting their crops but their harvests were small. They ate and drank but it was never enough. Their wages didn’t seem to go very far. Obviously, the Lord was saying their inability to prosper and increase was directly connected to their failure to put Him first. The solution to their problem of insufficiency would be to reverse their behavior: put God first by restoring the temple.

Haggai gave this word on the first day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king. Twenty-four days later, the people came together and began work on the foundation of the temple. Three months later on the 24^th day of the ninth month, they finished laying the foundation. They were faithful and obedient and took the first step in restoring the temple, and as a result, the Lord spoke again through Haggai and promised them, “from this day forward I will bless you” (Hag. 2:19 NKJV).

Obedience to God Is Vital

There is something noteworthy about this exchange between God and the returned exiles in the book of Haggai that should be emphasized. The Lord rebuked them for not putting Him first. They repented and immediately began to work on the temple’s foundation. After they obeyed the Lord, He spoke to them again about Him returning to them. Notice the order. God didn’t say He would return to them until they obeyed His word about putting Him first. Had they not obeyed the word about putting the Lord first by completing the temple, He would not have spoken to them about Him returning to them. Their obedience was vital for their relationship with God to be restored. God had to see them taking a step of obedience first.

This is how God deals with all of His children. He makes a move toward us and waits for us to respond. When we respond, He makes another move toward us. Some have compared it to playing a game of chess or checkers. God makes a move toward us and then waits for us to move toward Him. He doesn’t move again until we obey Him. A minister once said, “If you haven’t heard from God in a while, examine your life. Go back to the last thing He told you to do. He’s most likely waiting for you to obey.”

An Invitation to Repent and Return to God

Zec. 1:1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying 2 The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers. 3 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. 4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord. 5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? 6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

Zechariah’s first recorded prophetic word came one month before the foundation of the temple was completed. In the eighth month of the second year of Darius came a word from the Lord to Zechariah. The first thing the Lord said was, “The Lord has been sore displeased with your fathers” (v. 2). The word “fathers” is the Hebrew word ‘ab and in this case, it’s referring to the forefathers of the children of Israel.² The Lord was displeased with them because of their covenant-breaking sins. They broke their covenant with Him when they worshiped other gods.

The Lord goes on to say, “Turn ye unto me … and I will turn unto you … Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord” (vv. 3–4). The Lord told them why He was displeased with their forefathers: their “ways” and “doings” were evil. We know they worshiped false gods. They even went so far as to sacrifice their own children to these false gods (2 Kings 17:17). God sent His prophets to warn them and to tell them to repent and return to Him. But they did not listen. As a result, He judged their sins, and they were exiled in Babylon for 70 years. After their judgment was fulfilled, the Lord was ready to return to them if they agreed to return to Him, which means they were to agree to worship God exclusively—to have no other gods besides Him.

He reached out to them with an offer of relationship reconciliation. He was giving the returned exiles an opportunity to start anew with a clean slate. But this promise of a new start was conditional. The condition was that they be not like their forefathers, that they not commit the same sins of worshiping false gods. He pointed out the consequences that their forefathers experienced: “Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us” (vv. 5–6). Their ancestors and the prophets who warned them were both long dead and buried. But God’s prophetic word toward them did not die, and in fact, it accomplished what it was sent to do. The Lord warned them what would happen if they didn’t repent, and He made good on His word. Verse six says, “according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.” This phraseology refers to a measure-for-measure judgment. The judgment they received was according to their behavior: “For with the same measure ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).

Jeremiah was one of the prophets God used to warn them to repent and turn from their wicked ways. Jeremiah warned them that a measure-for-measure judgment was headed their way if they did not repent. He said, “And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours” (Jer. 5:19). They served strange gods in their own nation so God’s measure-for-measure judgment for them would be to serve strangers in a foreign land. That prophecy overtook their ancestors; meaning, it came to pass.

This entire passage reminds me of how parents correct and discipline their misbehaving children. When children misbehave, they are told to stop. If they don’t stop, they are warned that they will be punished if they continue to misbehave. When the behavior continues, the parents make good on their threat and punish them. When the punishment is over, they sit their children down and make sure they understand why they were punished. “Do you understand why you were punished? You were misbehaving. I warned you to stop, but you didn’t listen.” At that point, the parents give their children a second chance to start over: “Are you ready to listen now?”

In the same way, God is our Father and we are His children. Just as natural earthly fathers correct and discipline their children, so does our Heavenly Father. Hebrews 12:6 says, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” In the opening verses of the book of Zechariah, we are reading about a Father sitting His children down after their punishment and asking them if they’re ready to repent and start over.

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