Study From the Book of Zechariah,1

                         Study From the Book of Zechariah, 1

     Today we start studying another book of the Bible. The book of Zechariah is one of minor prophecy book of the Old Testament . For a dozen of years or more, the task of rebuilding the temple had remained only half completed. God commissioned Zechariah to encourage the people to complete their unfinished responsibility.

     Zechariah motivated the Israelites to continue in building the temple along with Haggai.  It was not just a building. It was to prepare the place for the first coming of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. Zechariah in his book went beyond the first coming to the second coming of Messiah.

     So both Haggai and Zechariah message was the same, as they prophesied the same issue about the unfinished temple. However, Haggai concentrated on rebuking the Israelites, but Zechariah concentrated on encouraging the people. God uses both negative and positive means to motivate His people to willing obedience.

    As mentioned, Zechariah prophesied about the first and the second coming of Messiah.  For the first coming that happened around 2000 years: he prophesied about Palm Sunday (Zech.9:9), the amount of money that been paid to the betrayer of Messiah (11:12, 13),the death of Christ and the scattering of His disciples (13:7). For the second coming:  the rule of Christ at His return (14:3-9).

The author: the prophet Zechariah, the name means “Yahweh remembers. Israel will be blessed because Yahweh remembers the covenant He made with their fathers.

Theme: God equips and strengthens us to do the work He calls us to do.

Time: Zechariah began his ministry shortly after Haggai around 520 B.C.

Structure:  the first 8 chapters, Zechariah talks about the 8 visions that he saw in one night. However, he focuses on the importance of finishing the uncompleted temple. Its importance has gone beyond that of just a building as above. The final six chapters focus on promises of blessings once the work on the temple is finished.

                                                                                                                      5/11/2017