A Call to Repentance
“In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, “The Lord has been very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.
“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? Yet surely My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?“ So they returned and said: ‘Just as the Lord of hosts determined to do to us, according to our ways and according to our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’ ” ’ ”
Vision of the Horses
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet: I saw by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow; and behind him were horses: red, sorrel, and white. Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” So the angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what they are.” And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.” So they answered the Angel of the Lord, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly.”
The Lord Will Comfort Zion
Then the Angel of the Lord answered and said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will You not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which You were angry these seventy years?” And the Lord answered the angel who talked to me, with good and comforting words. So the angel who spoke with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I am zealous for Jerusalem
and for Zion with great zeal. I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; for I was a little angry,
and they helped—but with evil intent.”
‘Therefore thus says the Lord: “I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,” says the Lord of hosts, “And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’ “Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; the Lord will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”
Vision of the Horns
Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four horns. And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” So he answered me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. And I said, “What are these coming to do?” So he said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
Zechariah’s time is one of upheaval and uncertainty. At the command of King Cyrus, some exiles have returned from Babylon and are slowly rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. But as Haggai has pointed out, these people appear more interested in building luxurious houses for themselves than in completing the temple. At the same time, there are shortages of resources and manpower and crop failures due to the failure of the people to worship God. Although the people of Judah went into exile, the demons they were serving never left Judah. Now those same demons are waiting, hoping to trap a new generation of Jews in unspeakable pagan rituals. This is why God is reminding His people, “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” ’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.”
Now God is proclaiming that the earth is at rest and that He is going to favor Jerusalem. ‘Therefore thus says the Lord: “I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy; My house shall be built in it,” says the Lord of hosts, “And a surveyor’s line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’ “Again proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “My cities shall again spread out through prosperity; the Lord will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”
What’s the significance of the four horns in the last verses? Horns are symbols of military power and authority. What four countries are represented here? Perhaps those represented are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. No matter which countries are represented, the important thing is that God promises to destroy powers that come up against His chosen people.
APPLICATION: Demons are territorial and they don’t leave a place simply because a revival has taken place. Several years ago, in another town in which we worked, there was a series of tragedies in one specific location. One elderly man suffered a broken neck in an accident, a school girl bled to death after an illegal abortion, and a school child was hit and killed by a motorcycle. A local church stood near the site of these tragedies. When we prayed, God gave us a vision of a huge fetish tree with little demons swarming all over it. When we inquired, we learned that there had been a huge fetish tree on the property before the church was built. It’s possible that’s why the missionaries were able to get the land for the church; nobody else wanted it!
God is warning those who have returned to Jerusalem from Persia that they need to worship Him and nobody else, refusing to make the same mistakes that resulted in their fathers going into exile. God promises to restore Jerusalem and to make her “spread out through prosperity.” In time, those promises have been fulfilled.
What must we do to claim the promises of God for our own? We need to worship the One True Living God. We need to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Son of God who has shed His blood for us and who has died and risen again. Let’s pray.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. We confess that we are sinners and that only You can deliver us from our sins. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for us. We accept Jesus as our Savior and we thank You for that sacrifice. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment