John Mark Hicks

The visions of Zechariah renew the Abrahamic promise to post-exilic Israel—God intends to bless Israel so that all nations might be blessed.

The word of Yahweh given to Zechariah for the people is “Return to me, and I will return to you.” This message comes to Zechariah through a series of eight night visions on February 15, 519 BCE during the reign of the Persian Emperor Darius the Great (1:7). The eight visions communicate the basic message in a dramatic way through what Zechariah sees.

Scholars generally agree that the eight visions have a chiastic structure though the interpretations vary somewhat. This may be pictured in the following way:

1. Myrtle Trees – Peace among the Nations in the Earth (1:7-17).

2. Four Horns – Judgment of the Nations for their Evil (1:8-21).

3. Measuring Line – The Habitation of Jerusalem (2:1-13).

4. Joshua – Restoration of the Priestly Line (3:1-10).

5. Zerubbabel – Restoration of the Royal Line (4:1-14).

6. Flying Scroll – Removal of Sin from Israel (5:1-4).

7. Woman in a Basket – Removal of Sin from the Nations (5:5-11).

8. Four Chariots – Peace among the Nations in the Earth (6:1-8).

The visions begin and end with peace among the nations. The first peace, however, is illusionary because the land of Israel and Jerusalem are still lamenting their loss. In contrast the final peace is the result of God’s renewal of his grace toward Israel and Jerusalem.

The second and seventh visions focus on the nations as well. While the first vision judges them for their malicious treatment of God’s people, the seventh vision sees the removal of the wickedness of the nations that prepares for peace on the earth among the nations.

The third and sixth visions focus on Israel in their land. The resettlement and prosperity of Jerusalem in the third vision is connected to the removal of sin from the land by the return of God to the temple.

The fourth and fifth visions are the restoration of the royal and priestly lines to Israel in a functioning theocratic and cultic (temple) nation. God again reigns from the temple in Jerusalem and heals the wounds of his people.

The visions, then, move us from a picture of the earth (nations) through the Holy Land (Israel) to the cultic center of Israel (the temple in Jerusalem) and then out of Jerusalem through the Holy Land to the whole earth. God is moving among the nations to show mercy to the land of Israel through renewing temple presence in order that Israel might be a blessing to the nations (the whole earth).

The visions of Zechariah renew the Abrahamic promise to post-exilic Israel—God intends to bless Israel so that all nations might be blessed.

In the coming weeks, I will post on each vision.

This entry was posted on January 11, 2012 at 9:32 am and is filed under Biblical Texts. Tagged: Abrahamic Promise, Bible-Zechariah, Blessing, Israel, Visions, Zechariah 1:7-6:8. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.