Zechariah 8:1

 Zechariah 8:1 says, Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,  Verse two adds, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.  God said He was jealous for Zion, or His people.  God had a great concern for them, even though He had punished them for their sins.  Even though God may have to punish His people at times, He never does so without love and compassion for them.  Verse three states, Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.  God said that since He had returned to Jerusalem to dwell in its midst that it would be known as a city of truth.  God also said that the mountains around Jerusalem would be known as holy mountains.  When God is in our midst as followers of Christ today, we should be known as holy people, or those guided by His word.  Verse four declares, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.   God said that men and women would grow old in Jerusalem.  They weren't going to be there for just a little while.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, He is with us forever.  We can grow old in the certainty that nothing will ever separate us from Him.  Of course, we need to realize that God is going to be jealous of His relationship with us, and not in a negative way that we often think of jealousy.   Verse five continues, And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.  Not only were people going to grow old in Jerusalem, but they were to be born and grow up there as well, playing in the streets without fear.  Some people in God's kingdom today have grown old in their faith, and some are new born or young in their faith, but all are secured by God's power.  Verse six asks, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.  God.  God asked if they thought that what was good for them was not what He wanted.  We need never question God's ability to bring good things into our lives if we put our faith in Him, nor should we question His desire to do so.  Still, this does not mean that God is going to give us everything we want, but He is going to supply us with everything we need to do what He calls us to do.  Verse seven declares, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;   God said that He was going to save His people, no matter where they were in the world.  Being one of God's people is not about where we are located physically, but is about where we are spiritually.  Verse eight adds, And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.  God said that He would bring His people to Jerusalem, His city, and that they would be His people and He would be their God.  The people of God were called on to be His people in truth and righteousness.   Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We are to be righteous people who proclaim the truth of God.   

Zechariah 7:8

 Zechariah 7:8 says, And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,  Verse nine adds, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:   Zechariah said God's word came to Him again,  and then tells us what God said.  When God's word comes to us today, we should be willing to share what He says with others.  Of course, it will always be consistent with His written word, and the main word of God that we need to share is the Gospel.  God called on His people to use true judgment and to shew mercy and compassion to his brothers.  We sometimes like to limit this to our fellow Christians, but God tells us all men are to be treated as our brothers.  Of course, this includes women being treated as our sisters as well.  Verse ten continues, And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.  God also said they were not to oppress the widows or children without fathers nor the poor.  Too often today, these people are looked down on, ignored or mistreated.  God also said that His people were not to imagine evil against their brothers, or sisters, in ther heart.  Even our thoughts should not include evil against the less fortunate, nor anyone else for that matter.  Verse eleven declares, But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.  God said that His people had refused to listen to Him, even stopping up their ears against His word when it was proclaimed.  We better pray that as professed followers of Christ that we never come to a point where we refuse to listen to what God has to say.  Verse twelve adds, Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.  God said that those who were called His people hardened their hearts against Him and refused to listen to the prophets that He sent to them.   It was God's Spirit that gave the prophets their message, and it is God's Spirit that will give us our message to the world today.  Of course, we cannot just say what we believe and claim that it is God's word, but as true followers of Christ, we must make sure that the message of God that we share with others is truly inspired by the Holy Spirit, and if it, it will be consistent with His written word, the Bible.  God also said that because of ther refusal to hear Hie word, they incurred His wrath.  If we refuse to hear and believe the gospel of Christ, one day we will face the wrath of God, but the choice is ours.  Verse thirteen continues, Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:  God said that since His people would not hear when He cried out to them, that He therefore would not hear when they cried out to Him.  The people of Israel felt that God had to listen to them when they cried out to Him, no matter what.  God said that unless they were truly His people in spirit and in truth that He would not hear them when they cried out to Him.  We cannot ignore God's word until we find ourselves in trouble and then expect Him to have to hear our cry.  We must listen to God and follow His word as the time to be successful as Christians.  Verse fourteen concludes, But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.  God said He had scattered the people of Israel and left their land desolate.  This was a land flowing with milk and honey when God gave it to them, but His blessing on them had never been enough to satisfy them.  If we are followers of Christ today, we need to enjoy what God blesses us with and give Him thanks and praise for it.

Zechariah 7:1

 Zechariah 7:1 says, And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; Once more, God's word came to Zechariah.  Even though people sometimes ridicule people who say that God speaks to them, as followers of Christ, He should speak to us quite often.  If may not be with an audible voice, but He will speak to us through the Holy Spirit's guidance in our life.   Verse two adds, When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,  Two men had been sent to the house of the LORD to pray to Him.  Matthew Henry said the two men were men of authority, because their men came with them.  It is always a good thing to come to God in prayer if we have questions about what He would have us do, even if we are people of some authority in the world.  Verse three continues, And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?  They came not only to pray but also to speak to the priests and prophets concerning the keeping of a particular religious ceremony.   They said they had continued to celebrate this day for many years.  Matthew Henry says that this day commemorated the burning of the temple, which was now being rebuilt.  Verse four declares, Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,  Zechariah did not give them his answer, but he gave them God's answer.  If someone comes to us with a question about what God would have them do, we must make sure that what we tell them comes from God's word.  Verse five adds, Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?  Verse six continues, And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?   God then had Zechariah ask if the people did not observe these feasts  for their own benefit.  We should never attend a worship service simply so we can bring honor to ourselves.   Zechariah was instructed to speak to the people and the priests and to start with a question.  These men boasted that the people and they had kept these feasts for these seventy years, but God asked if they had done so to honor Him or if they had just gone through the motions.  We may faithfully keep every Christian holiday that there is and faithfully be at every church service,  but if we do not do so to honor God, then we have no reason totake pride in our faithfulness.  Verse seven states,, Should you not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?  Zechariah said God did not want them to continue to keep the feasts as they had, but wanted them to keep them with true repentance and not just for show, as they had failed to do even before their dispersion.   God does not want empty religious ceremonies,  but He wants true worship based on a personal relationship with Him.  

Zechariah 6:9

 Zechariah 6:9 says, And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,  The word of the LORD once again came to Zechariah.  This time, it was just God's word and not a vision.  God does speak to people, or even an individual, in different ways.  Verse ten adds, Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah;  God gave Zechariah specific instructions to take the captives who had returned from Babylon to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah.  The people had returned, and God sent His prophet to them to lead them in what He would have them do.  When we come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, He will never leave on our own in our Christian walk.  Verse eleven declares, Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;  Zechariah was instructed to make crowns of silver and gold and set them on the head of Joshua, which is the same name as Jesus in the New Testament.  Joshua was to be a representative of what Jesus would one day be.  Jesus really was to be and now is the eternal King.  Verse twelve adds, And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:  This is a definite prophesy of the coming BRANCH, or Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Savior of all who will put their faith in Him.  Jesus said that if they destroyed the temple that He would rebuild in it in three days, referring to Himself as the temple.  Verse thirteen continues, Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.  This is a continuation of a description of Who Jesus Christ is and what He did for all people.  He is due the glory and He is our High Priest through Whom we can find peace.   Verse fourteen states, And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD.  The crowns at this time were not given to Joshua, but were preserved as a memorial in the temple of the LORD.  We as followers of Christ today serve as a memorial to Him until He returns in glory.  We do not follow Christ to exalt ourself, but to exalt Him.  Verse fifteen concludes,  And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.  God said that those who were far off, and this would include not only the Jews but the Gentiles as well, would come and build the temple of the LORD.  As Christians, our bodies are referred to as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and as such it is up to us to build His kingdom.   This can only be done through if we do as God said to Zechariah and diligently obey the voice of the Lord our God.

Zechariah 6:1

 Zechariah 6:1 says, And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.  This time when Zechariah looked up, he saw four chariots come out from between two mountains of brass.  This was the seventh vision that Zechariah had, and Matthew Henry says that there are various interpretations as to what it signifies.  Some see the four chariots as the four winds, some as four specific kingdoms, and some including Matthew Henry says he sees them as representing ages in the growth of the church.  Verse two states, In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;   The red horse is seen by many as representing the kingdom of Babylon,  and the black horse as representing the kingdom of Persia, which overthrew the Babylonians.  Matthew Henry views the red horse as representing the war of the early church against the world and the black horse as representing the dire results of that war on the earth.  Verse three adds, And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.  Some see the white horses as representing the kingdom of Greece and the grisled and bay horses representing the kingdom of Rome.  Matthew Henry says he sees the white horse as representing the return of peace and prosperity to the world, or at least the church, after all the wars and the bad results of those wars, the grisled and bay horses representing the representing the changing circumstances of the church in the world.  Verse four declares, Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?  Zechariah asked the angel what the vision meant, and even though I stated a least a couple of theories that people have had as to their meaning, we should go to the Source, God Himself, to determine the meaning and how it applies to us today as followers of Christ.   Verse five adds, And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.  The angel said that these were four spirits that went into the world from standing before God.  Matthew Henry again says some see these as the four winds, and I do not claim to understand exactly what the four spirits were, but I do understand that they were under God's control and doing His will.  God is always in control of those who represent Him and do His will in the world.   Verse six states, The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country.  The angel said that the black and white horses went to the north country, and the grisled went to the south.  Verse seven continues, And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.  Then verse eight concludes, Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.  Whatever we see these horses and chariots as signifying, they represent God's work in the world as He spreads His gospel throughout the world.  We do know that as followers of Christ that we are to go throughout the world sharing the gospel of Christ today.

Zechariah 5:1

 Zechariah 5:1 says,  Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.  Zechariah did not have to be awakened this time, but looked up by his own accord and saw a flying roll, or rolled up scroll.  Matthew Henry says that once a prophet is awakened, he should stay awake, and  I believe that as followers of Christ, we have been awakened to God's truth and should stay awake spiritually.  Verse two states, And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.  The angel asked Zechariah what he saw, and Zechariah responded a large flying roll, about ten yards by five yards in size. Zechariah never seemed to see more than what was physically there by his own abilities.  Verse three adds, Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.  The angel told Zechariah that the scroll contained a curse for those who were not obedient to God's will, citing the examples of stealing and cursing.  We have God's written word today that tells us of the fate of those who do not accept salvation through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Verse four declares, I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.  God said that He would bring forth this punishment on those who stole and those who swore falsely by His name.   I believe that stealing was used as an example of failing to love and honor ones neighbor, and of course swearing falsely by God's name dishonored God.  Worse sins than stealing could have been used, but I believe that the point is that all sins bring God's punishment, and not just those that we might consider big sins.  Verse five says, Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.  This time, the angel told Zechariah to look up.  Sometimes, we may need the Holy Spirit to urge us to look up today.  We cannot become so focused on the world that we forget to look up to God.  Verse six adds, And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.  This time Zechariah asked what it was that he was seeing, and the angel answered him.  If we do not understand what God is telling us today, then we simply need to look up to Him and ask.  The angel said that what Zechariah saw was an ephah, or a measuring standard.  Verse seven states, And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.  Matthew Henry says the ephah represented the sins of the people of Israel, and the lead represented the inability of the woman sitting there to remove them from the ephah.  Likewise, we today cannot remove sin from our midst by our own abilities.  Verse eight adds, And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.  The angel explained to Zechariah about the wickedness in the midst of the ephah, and the fact that they were sealed so that they could not be removed.  As stated earlier, we are unable to remove sin from our life by our own abilities, but can only have them removed by faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse nine declares, Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.  Zechariah said when he looked up again, he saw two winged women lift up the ephah.  God sends His representatives, in this case two winged women, to do His bidding.  The ephah was suspended between heaven and earth.  Verse ten adds, Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?  Zechariah asked the angel where the women were taking the ephah.  Verse eleven concludes, And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.  Matthew Henry says this means that the people of Isreal would never be truly free from dispersion, because they would never accept the Messiah Who was to come.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will always be under the power of sin and separated from God.

Zechariah 4:6

 Zechariah 4:6 aays, Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.  Zechariah did not understand what the vision he had seen meant, so the angel told him the meaning.  The angel said that this was the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel and it meant that nothing was going to be accomplished by might and power, but would only be accomplished by the Spirit of God.  This is true of salvation today.  We cannot gain salvation by any earthly power, but can only attain it by the power of God leading us to Him through power of the Holy Spirit.  Verse seven declares, Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.  God asked what the mountains were to stand in the way of Zerubbabel accomplishing God's purpose.  No matter what obstacles we see before us today, we are told that with the faith of a mustard seed that we can move mountains if it is necessary to do so to accomplish what God has called us to do.  Verse eight states, Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,  Verse nine adds, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.  The word of God came to Zechariah saying that Zerubbabel had laid the foundation of the temple, and that he would finish building it.  This would be proof that God had sent Zechariah.  The proof that we will have of our salvation will ultimately come when Jesus Christ returns, and until then we need to simply continue to build His church on the foundation that He has laid.  Verse ten continues, For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.  Zechariah was told that those who despised the small things would rejoice when the temple was completed.  Matthew Henry says many people, even some of the Jews, despised the temple that was being rebuilt because it was inferior to the original in their eyes.  We know that Jesus Christ said that He would replace the temple, and many people despise this, because they want some earthly place to represent God.  God also said that He was watching the whole world and not just the temple and those near it.  He is still doing so today.  Verse eleven says, Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?  Zechariah asked what the two olive trees on the sides of the candlestick represented.  Once more, Zechariah did not understand the vision by his own understanding, and he asked what it meant.  If we do not understand what God is saying to us today, we need to simply ask Him.  I don't believe God will ever leave us confused about what He is telling us.  Verse twelve adds, And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?  Evidently the answer did not come immediately, so Zechariah asked once more what they meant.  If God's answer does not come immediately to questions that we have, we need to continue to prayerffully wait for His answer.  Verse thirteen states, And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.  The angel then asked Zechariah if he did not understand what they meant, and Zechariah said that he didn't.  God was giving Zechariah a chance to understand what He was saying, but he still didn't.  God may wait on us to understand what He is saying to us by our own abilities today, but if we don't, He will not leave us in confusion.   Verse fourteen adds, Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.  Matthew Henry offers more than one explanation for what the two anointed ones might mean, but I believe they represent Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, which is also one of Matthew Henry's interpretations.   This is not two God's, but two manifestations of the one true God.