528BC-488BC – The Prophet Zechariah

Zechariah 1:1-13. Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo, prophesied 518BC-488BC and was of the priestly tribe of Levi.

The book of Zechariah is an interesting prophetic book with only fourteen chapters.

It starts with ‘A Call to Obedience’ and ends with ‘The Coming of the Messiah and His Kingdom’.

Unlike the prophet Zechariah in Hebrews who was killed about 795BC-796BC, we have no account of how or when this Zechariah died.

Over 25 men with the name Zechariah are mentioned in the Bible.

Zechariah in Hebrew means: Jehovah remembers or renowned.

Background Reading:

A Call to Return

1:1 In the eighth month of the second year of the reign of Darius [537BC], this message from the LORD came to Berechiah’s son Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo the prophet: 3 “The LORD was very angry with your ancestors. 3 So tell them, ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “Return to me,” declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, “and I will return to you. 4 Don’t be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed: ‘This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: “It’s time to turn from your evil lifestyles and from your evil actions,” ‘but they would neither listen nor pay attention to me,’” declares the LORD.’ 5 “Your ancestors—where are they? And the prophets—do they live forever? 6 But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets—did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me: ‘The LORD of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do—in keeping with our lifestyles and in keeping with our actions.’”

The Vision of Horses

7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month Shebat) in the second year of the reign of Darius, this message from the LORD came to Berechiah’s son Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo the prophet: 8 “I stared into the night, and there was a man mounted on a red horse! The horse was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him there were red, brown, and white horses.”

9 Then I asked, “Who are these, sir?”

The messenger who was talking to me answered, “I will tell you who these are.”

10 The man who stood among the myrtle trees answered, “These are the ones whom the LORD sent out to wander throughout the earth.”

11 Then they reported to the angel of the LORD who stood among the myrtle trees, “We have wandered throughout the earth—and look!—the entire earth is at rest. Everything is quiet and peaceful.”

12 And the angel of the LORD replied, “LORD of the Heavenly Armies, how long will it be until you show mercy to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, with whom you have been angry for these past seventy years?”

13 So the LORD answered the angel who was speaking to me with kind and comforting words.
Zechariah 1:1-13
read the rest of the book of Zechariah for the rest of the story

and

The Zechariah we talk about in Hebrews is the one below:

Joash Apostasizes and Kills Jehoiada’s Son Zechariah

24:15 Eventually, Jehoiada grew old and died at the age of 130 years, after having lived a full life. 16 He was buried in the City of David among the graves of the kings, because he had accomplished many good things in Israel on behalf of God and his Temple. 17 But after Jehoiada had died, officials from Judah came, bowed down to the king, and the king listened to what they had to say. 18 They abandoned the LORD’s Temple and the God of their fathers, and they served Asherim and idols. As a result this guilt of theirs resulted in wrath coming upon Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Nevertheless, God sent prophets among them to bring them back to the LORD.

20 Then Jehoiada the priest’s son Zechariah was clothed by the Spirit of God, and he stood above the people and told them, “This is what God has to say: ‘Why are you breaking the Lord’s commandments. You’ll never be successful! Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.’”

21 But the people conspired against him, and at the direct orders of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD’s Temple. 22 This is how King Joash (8th king, 835-796) failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him: he killed his son. As he lay dying, Zechariah cried out, “May the LORD watch this and avenge.”
2 Chronicles 24:17-22


Other slides in this module: