Zechariah 9:1

 Zechariah 9:1 says, The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD.  Syria had been a burden to the people of Israel, but now they were going to face the burden of the LORD.  This was to happen when the people of Israel looked to God in faith.  The world today may burden us down as followers of Christ, but if we look to God in faith, He will always give us relief spiritually, and one day He will deliver us from all oppression and suffering.  Verse two states, And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.  Next, Tyrus and Zidon were added to those that God was going to punish, even though they thought themselves to be very wise and above God's punishment.  Some countries today think of themselves as being too wise to believe in God, but one day they will realize just how foolish they really were.  Verse three adds, And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.  Tyrus had built itself up as a strong and rich city, thinking these things would keep them safe without God's protection and even in defiance to Him.  Too many people today put their faith in material things to keep them safe and ignore or even defy God.  Verse four declares, Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.  Zechariah said that the LORD was going to destroy Tyrus, in spite of the people there thinking that they were above His punishment.  They did not really believe in God or His power, but that did not remove them from His judgment.  Just because someone, or even some nation, today claims there is no God, one day they will find out how wrong they are.  Verse five states, Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.  God next pronounced judgment on the Philistines.  God said their king would perish and their cities uninhabited.  Veree six adds, And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.  A foreigner was to rule over the land of the Philistines, someone who was not of the royal family.  Matthew Henry says this prophesy was fulfilled when Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world.  Verse seven states, And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.  God said that those of the Philistines who put their faith in Him would be saved by His power.  We may be in the camp of the enemy as followers of Christ, but if we remain true to Him, we have an everlasting victory.  Verse eight adds, And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.  God said that He would protect His people, those that put their faith in Him, from all enemies, and He still does today.  No matter what happens in this life, as long as we continue to put our faith in God, He secures us to Him forever.  God has already won the victory for us.

Zechariah 8:16

 Zechariah 8:16 says, These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:  God told the people of Judah what He expected of them.  They were to speak the truth to their neighbors, execute judgment and live at peace with one another.  I believe the truth and judgment would be God's truth and judgment, and when they spoke His truth and executed judgment in accordance with His word that His peace would follow, and this still applies to Christians today.  Verse seventeen adds, And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.  Just as there were some things that God expected them to do, there were some things that He expected them not to do.  They were to not even imagine, or think about, doing evil to their neighbors and they were to love no false Gods.  God still expects that of followers of Christ today.  We are to love our neighbors, and we are to love nothing more than we love God.   Ir we do love anything more than God, it becomes an idol to us.  Verse eighteeen declares, And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying,  Verse nineteen adds, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.  God said that their fasts in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months were to be fasts of joy.  We may not associate fasting with joy, but God said these times of fasting were to be times of joy for the people of Judah.  I believe this was because these were to be days associated with all that God had done for them and were to be days dedicated to giving up the richer things of the world in order to show their obedience to Him.  When we worship God today, we should put aside all the things of the world that could come between God and us, and we should do so joyfully.   If we do fast to show our love for God, we should not do so to call attention to ourself, but to show our devotion to God and we should have joy in our life when we do it.  Verse twenty states, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:  Verse twenty-one adds, And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.  God said there were going to be people of many other cities coming to worship Him.  God said they were going to come speedily and pray to Him.  God did not redeem just the people of Judah who put their faith in Him, but people everywhere who did.  We should recognize that God does not just redeem people from certain countries today,  but He redeems everyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.   Verse twenty-two continues, Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.  God said people from many strong nations were going to come to Jerusalem to worship Him. Verse twenty-three concludes, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.  God said that people from everywhere would come to the Jews and tell them that they would go with them because God was with them.  People come to Christians today when they are seeking the truth of God, and we need to lead them to Him.  Sadly, this does not happen too often today, but we are still to be a Godly example to the world.

Zechariah 8'9

 Zechariah 8:9 says, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.  God called on the people who heard the word of God from the prophets and who had laid the foundation of the temple to be strong in continuing the work.  We as followers of Christ today must continue to build on the foundation of faith in Christ that brings us salvation.  We should never stop listening to God's word.  Verse ten adds, For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.  God said that before this time, because His people would not listen to and obey His word, that He had left them with no one to do the work.  If we do not listen to God today and obey His word, we will be left with noone to do His work.  Verse eleven declares, But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.  God said that He would no longer be the same to the residue, or remnant of the people.   He was no longer going to turn away from them, because they had returned to Him in faith.  If we turn away from God, as a nation or an individual, we should not be surprised if God turns away from us, but if we return to Him once more, He stands ready to bless us once more so that we can do His work.  Verse twelve adds, For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.  God promised that they were going to once again be blessed with an abundance of what they needed.  I believe that this was a promise to meet their everyday needs with an abundance, and not a promise to give them everything that they wanted.  We have God's promise to supply all our needs, but not to supply all our wants, and our needs are supplied so that we can do the work that God has called us to do.  Verse thirteen continues, And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.  God said that when they obeyed Him, that He would once again make them a blessing to the heathen, those who did not believe in Him, instead of the curse that they had become.  This was a promise to all those who were called His people, both Judah and Israel.  The people of God may have divided themselves physically, but they were still all God's people united in faith.  God said they need not be afraid to be strong in doing His work.  We today, even if we are physically separated, are all united by faith in Jesus Christ if we are His followers, and we need not be afraid to do what He calls us to do.  The only way that we as Christians can be a blessing to the lost people of the world is if we are obedient to God and do what He calls us to do.  Verse fourteen states, For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:  God said that their fathers had not been faithful to Him and that He had allowed them to be defeated.  God also said that He did not repent, or believe that He had done wrong in this.  If we are punished for our sins because we refuse to follow God's call, then we cannot expect Him to suddenly say that everything is ok and that He should not punish us for our sins.  He makes salvation available to everyone, and if we refuse to accept it, the blame is not His, but ours.  Verse fifteen adds, So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.  God said that He had now determined to do good to His people, because they had returned to Him in faith.  God awaits to do good to those who will come to Him by faith in Jesus Christ today. 

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.