Weekly Recap #40 - (Part 3) Zechariah

A few facts about the Old Testament prophet, Zechariah....

~~~His name means "Jehovah remembers"

~~~He was probably a priest since his father was one

~~~He wrote the Book of Zechariah which portrays the coming glory of the Messiah.  It contains 8 specific references to the Messiah in it's 14 chapters.

In Chapter 1, the Lord gave Zechariah His message....

verse 3...."Return to me, and I will return to you".

I love that statement, don't you?!?

Zechariah received a total of 8 visions, or parables from the Lord.....

1)  The man and horses among the myrtle trees

Indicated that the Lord would again be merciful to Jerusalem.

2) The four horns and four craftsmen

Showed that the Babylonians and others who scattered Judah would be cast out.

3)  The man with a measuring line

Promised that God would be a protective wall of fire around Jerusalem.

4)  The cleansing of Joshua's garments

Illustrated the redemptive work that God would do for His people.

5)  The golden lamp stand and olive trees

Symbolized the way in which the Lord was going to empower His people by the Holy Spirit.

6)  The flying scroll

Indicated that dishonesty is cursed.

7)  The woman in the basket

Illustrated the removal of wickedness.

8)  The four chariots

Revealed that the spirits of heaven would execute judgment on the whole earth.

The Lord sent a message thru  Zechariah to His people telling them He would restore them.  He also gave Zechariah messages to give to Israel's enemies pronouncing His judgment on them.

Here are some things that I found very interesting....

In Chapter 12 - When the people mourned for their sins, each clan would mourn by itself and with the husbands separate from their wives.

In Chapter 13 - If any false prophets continued to prophesy, his own mother and father would tell him "You must die for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord"....and as he prophesied, his father and mother would stab him.

OUCH!!

People would be ashamed to claim the gift of prophesy.  They would lie and say they were farmers.

Isn't that hilarious?!?!?

In Chapter 14 - The Lord would send a plague on all nations that fought against Jerusalem that would also affect all their animals.  If you go back and read this chapter, the description of the plague is like what an atomic bomb would do to people's bodies!!!  Scary!!!

In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!