Zechariah 8:1–8; 9:10–12

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Assistant Professor of Christian Ministries, University of Mobile

The Promised Messiah

Zechariah 8:1–8; 9:10–12

Zechariah was a post-exilic prophet, which means he was a prophet after the Israelites returned from the Babylonian captivity. When the Medes and Persians defeated the Babylonians, they allowed the captives to go back home. Many of the Israelites went back to Judah to begin to rebuild their country.

Zechariah is the longest of the minor prophet books and is quoted more than any other prophetic book other than Isaiah in the New Testament. The book of Zechariah points toward the coming Messiah which is Christ and points to His second coming.

Faithful (8:1–8)

Jerusalem was in shambles as the people of Israel returned from exile. A city without a wall indicated a city that was not safe. From this time period up until the present, Israel (when it existed as a country) has never been safe. The threat of foreign nations invading was ever present. Even today, Israel is constantly under threat of attack. However, in this passage God shows His love for His people. He mentions how He will return to dwell in Jerusalem and that this era will be represented by safety and peace. The fact that women and men will live to an old age and sit in the streets of Jerusalem while children play indicates safety and peace. This will only come about when Christ returns. 

Of course the idea of the second coming of Christ should fill us with hope and joy. Even in the midst of our current trials and struggles we can have a joy knowing that there will be a day when Christ will return and bring justice to the earth. Christians are not to live in fear and depression because we have an eternal hope. Christians should face trials — death, sickness, financial hardship, etc. — differently than the rest of the world. Christians, above all people, ought to live in victory. This is one of the ways Christians can bear witness to Christ (9:9).

This is a famous verse because we hear it in Matthew 21:5 when we read about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Sometimes prophecies have a dual purpose; they are fulfilled during the time of the prophet, but they also are pointing toward a future event. The Holy Spirit guided the writers of the New Testament to be able to discern these fulfillments. There are many prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled regarding the second coming of Christ. Since we have seen hundreds of fulfilled prophecies, we ought to have a confidence that God will be true to fulfill the ones that have yet to be fulfilled.

Creator of Peace (9:10)

The following verse shows God’s promise to bring a reign of peace by destroying all of the weapons of war. Without a doubt the continual news stories of wars, terrorists, droughts, famine, earthquakes, etc. are frustrating and depressing. If we focus on these things we are bound to lose hope. But since we know Christ will return, it instead should give us hope and a sense of urgency to tell others about His second coming when He will bring peace and destroy the wicked.

Victor (9:11–12)

Throughout the Old Testament, God promises to bring forgiveness to those who turn to Him with all of their hearts. God forgives us because of our faith in Christ and His death on the cross, burial and resurrection. Death has been defeated by Christ’s resurrection, and now death has no hold over us. Though we die once we do not face an eternal separation from God because Christ has paid for our sins by His atoning work on the Cross. This is why Christians have hope. We cannot save ourselves and so we must depend upon one stronger than death to save us, and the only one stronger than death is God who is Christ. In spite of what our culture tells us — that all religions are the same or that all religions bring people to God — Christ is the only way and we need to be sure to let this message ring loud a clear to a lost and dying world (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).