Skip to content Return to Me: Lessons from the Prophetic Call in Zechariah 1-3 May 15 · 14 min ...more
Return to Me: Lessons from the Prophetic Call in Zechariah 1-3
May 15, 2025 · 14 min
Join us in understanding Zechariah's call for repentance and its relevance to our faith journey in a world of opposition.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
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May 15, 2025 · 14 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Join us in understanding Zechariah's call for repentance and its relevance to our faith journey in a world of opposition. ...more Show the full description Show less Join us in understanding Zechariah's call for repentance and its relevance to our faith journey in a world of opposition.
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In this video 0:00 Zechariah's Call to Return2:53 Visions of Hope and Restoration8:42 Cleansing and Righteousness
Zechariah's Call to Return 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Today, we're in the book of Zechariah as we look at chapters 1, 2, and 3. Verse 6, chapter 1. But my words and my0:21 statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? Now has anyone ever suggested to to you that because you're not keeping up with the times, meaning you're not changing your views0:33 on the sanctity of life, you're not changing your views on the definition of marriage, and and you've not, subscribed to the idea that there's more than 2 genders, that somehow you're on the wrong side of history. I tell0:45 you, if I if I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me, I could retire. But here's my response. It's always been the same when they ask me, Tony, aren't you afraid you're on the wrong side of history?0:54 History? No. I don't hesitate, and I say it with confidence because truth never changes. And we see this once again in the opening of the book of Zechariah. Before the lord1:06 gives Zechariah a a series of visions looking to the future, he gives him this word looking back. And to paraphrase, it's this. Where are those who did it their way and1:17 refused to listen to my word? Well, the answer is obvious. Their demise was just as God's word said it would be. It was the word of God. It was1:29 the truth that prevailed. So return to me. You've returned physically, now return spiritually, the lord is saying. So Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai. They were like, kinda1:41 1 of those WWE wrestling tag teams. Zechariah delivered his message of repentance just 2 months after Haggai delivered his. Now Zechariah's recorded ministry was
1:53 relatively short, just a couple of years, roughly 5 20 to 5 18 BC, but the timing was very significant and his ministry strategic. The captives returned in 5
2:05 38 to begin rebuilding the temple. They laid the foundation about 2 years later. We've looked at this. It was stalled for about 15 years because of the opposition that they encountered. Well, Zechariah's
2:17 prophetic message, which reaches into the millennial kingdom, and just a short book, but it reaches into the millennial kingdom, giving them hope because they have a future. And that's 1 of the things we need
2:29 to understand as we look at the world around us to have an eternal perspective, looking beyond the obstacles and the opposition that we face today, looking into eternity. It gives us hope that we will overcome,
2:41 and that's what Zechariah was doing for them. And this would be a part of inspiring the people to get back to work and to complete the mission, and that was to build the temple.
Visions of Hope and Restoration
2:53 Now just a couple of notes on the book of Zechariah. Zechariah contains more prophecies about the Messiah than any other Old Testament book with the exception of Isaiah.
3:06 Now he writes of his of of Jesus' first coming, writes of his second coming. And and this, again, is a book of prophecy that is fulfilled on 3 horizons. We have the Old
3:18 Testament time in which it was written, the New Testament time of the ministry of the Messiah, and, of course, the future horizon of Christ's return and his millennial reign. So let's begin verse
3:29 1 of, chapter 1. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of
3:51 the Lord of hosts. They had returned to the land, but their hearts had not returned to God. And the evidence was what we read in Haggai and in Ezra that they
4:03 folded in the face of opposition. You see, they they came back. They were all excited. They were gonna build the temple, but they had they ran into opposition. And what'd they do? They went to build their own houses.
4:13 They had a greater fear of man than they had a reverence or a fear for God, which it's that fear of God, that reverence for him that gives us the staying power to
4:25 overcome the spiritual opposition that we will face. And sometimes it's physical opposition, but it's opposition driven from the spiritual realm, which we'll see here in just a few moments. Verse 4. Do not
4:37 be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, thus says the Lord of hosts, return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds. But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the
4:49 lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? So where are your fathers? Now this was a question loaded with meaning. The obvious
5:01 answer was that they were dead, but there's actually more to that question. Many of them were buried in Babylon, not their home, and this was significant. Remember Joseph, he
5:13 took Jacob's body back to Shechem to bury him. And then when the children of Israel, were leaving out, Joseph led led word that they were to carry his bones back and bury him when they
5:25 came out of Egypt. In fact, I, just a few weeks ago, stood overlooking Joseph's tomb. Alright. Verse 6, but my words and my statutes when I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not
5:37 overtake your fathers? In other words, didn't it catch up to them? What I said would happen, guess what? It happened. So they repented and said, as the Lord of hosts
5:48 proposed to deal with us for our ways and our deeds, so has he dealt with us. They acknowledged it. Now 3 months after he preached this message of repentance and the people responded,
6:00 Zechariah is given 9 visions in 1 night. It's like a divine miniseries. Each vision is distinct yet interrelated as it provides the overarching picture of the future. Right? The
6:12 structure of each vision is the same. There's the symbol, interpretation. They were all designed to encourage the people by instilling hope because God was
6:23 pronouncing they had a future, and so do we. We We we see that all through the New Testament. We have a future, and that should inspire us, give us courage to to carry through with
6:35 the mission that we've been given. Now the first is the vision of the horses and the riders. Verse 8, I saw in the night and behold a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees
6:47 in the glen, and behind him were red sorrel and white horses. Then I said, what are these, my lord? The angel who talked to me said to me, I will show you what they are. So the
6:59 man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, these are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees and
7:11 said, we have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest. Then the angel of the lord said, oh lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem in the cities of Judah against which you have
7:23 been angry these 70 years? And the lord answered, gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. So the angel who talked with me said to me, cry
7:35 out, thus says the lord of hosts, I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. And and so you see, this Jerusalem and Zion. And and so you see this this angel is kinda going in
7:46 between him and the Lord. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease. For while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. Okay. So God
7:58 used we've seen this before. God used these nations to punish Israel. All nations are under his control. He used them to punish Israel, but those nations went too far, and they did not show mercy. In fact, they
8:10 took they actually took pleasure in in what they did. And so god says, alright. It's coming. Therefore, thus says the lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy.
8:22 My house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry out again, thus says the Lord of hosts, my city shall again overflow with
8:34 prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem. That's a promise. Prosper just a little note here that prosperity
Cleansing and Righteousness
8:46 flows from what? It flows from a right standing with God. And and we've seen that already. When they're out of sync with God, there's a shortage. But when we're in right
8:58 standing with God, that's where the blessing comes. Verse 16, therefore, thus says the lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it, declares the lord of hosts, and the measuring line
9:08 shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Now this prophetic promise the the the prophetic promises of Jeremiah and Isaiah are reiterated here. The lord would ensure that this mission of
9:20 restoration would succeed. His word will not return unto him void. It will be accomplished just as he said it would. Verses 18 through
9:32 21 is a vision of the 4 horns, the judgment upon those nations who took pleasure in scattering Judah. And this again brings to mind Genesis chapter 12
9:44 verse 3. I will bless those who bless you, and those and him who dishonors you, I will curse. And then you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Alright. Chapter 2 has the third vision, which speaks to
9:56 the millennial kingdom. And I I'm just gonna point out a couple of verses here because we're running, long on time. Verse, 5, as I will be to and I will be to her, a wall of fire all
10:08 around declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst. The city would grow beyond its walls, and the Lord would be its protection. Now this message came when they had no walls.
10:20 Remember, the walls haven't been built yet. That's Nehemiah. That's still coming about 70 years later. And they desperately needed them. And and and as I said, Nehemiah would be rebuilding those in the future. For thus
10:31 says the lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye. Now this warning or promise does not expire.
10:44 Verse 11. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and it shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
10:56 Again, a clear reference to the millennial kingdom. Now chapter 3 is a vision of Joshua the high priest. This has immediate, intermediate, and future applications. Joshua was being
11:08 challenged. This, spoke to the immediate. It also spoke to the coming atonement of Jesus Christ and the future cleansing of the nation. Verse 1, then he showed me Joshua the
11:20 high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Now this is a as I mentioned earlier, this is another glimpse into the spiritual realm and the spiritual battle that
11:30 is raging all around us. And and and we we need to understand that. Satan was attempting to keep Joshua from his calling and his mission. But look who steps in. Verse 2. And the Lord said to
11:42 Satan, the Lord rebuke you, oh, Satan. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is not this the brand plucked from the fire? Now no doubt
11:53 Satan was trying to claim Joshua was compromised. The Jewish people had walked away from God. Therefore, they had no right to have fellowship with God and experience his blessing and favor. God acknowledged that
12:05 they had failed, that they had sinned, but he plucked them from the fire of correction. Verse 3. Now Joshua was standing before the angel clothed with filthy garments. That's a picture of what you and I are standing
12:17 before god until look at verse 4. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, remove the filthy garments from him. And to him, he said, behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I
12:29 will clothe you with pure vestments. Now that that obviously is very important for a priest, but we are a royal priesthood, and we're closed with the
12:41 righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is a of what Jesus Christ, the Messiah, does for us. He takes our filthy rags of sin, and he clothes us in a robe
12:53 of righteousness. This is a great book, and there's more to come. More to come. Father, thank you for your word. And, lord, just thank you for the such vivid illustrations of what you have done for
13:05 us. May we return to you, lord, not just physically, but spiritually with our whole hearts. May we walk, lord, with a eternal perspective that you would enable
13:17 us by by knowing your promises are true and they will be fulfilled. That, lord, we would overcome the obstacles and the difficulties we face, the spiritual opposition as, lord, we
13:28 carry out the mission that you've given us. And I pray that you, as you had, lord Jesus, rebuke Satan and and and stand in our defense as we're clothed in your righteousness, set apart for your work,
13:41 that we may accomplish all that you've given us to do. For we pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until next time, keep standing on the word.
13:54 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day,
14:06 you can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.
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