Old Testament - Zechariah 1-3. - December 6, 2022

 12/6/2022 – Zechariah 1-3

Zechariah is the Lord’s prophet at this time. Many of the messages Zechariah received from the Lord were in the form of visions. The student manual suggests that “because of the difficulty of conveying heavenly visions in earthly terms, most of the messages in the book of Zechariah are given in symbolic imagery and descriptions.”

Chapter 1’s synopsis: “Zechariah calls upon Judah to repent—He is shown by visions that the cities of Judah and the temple will be rebuilt.”

In v 3, the Lord helps Zechariah in his calling as the Lord’s prophet: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Turn ye unto me… and I will turn unto you…” I believe the Lord will offer this gift to any of us who truly ‘turn unto Him’. 

Zechariah warns the Israelites to “Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying…Turn ye now from your evil ways and from your evil doings, but they did not hear, nor harken unto me, saith the Lord.” (v 4)

In Zechariah’s time, the Israelites have been back in Jerusalem for 15 years, and still they have not worked to rebuild the temple. The Lord tells them in v 15: “…I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease”. And in the very next verse the Lord proclaims: “…my house shall be built” !.

Carol McConkie: “Holiness is making the choices that will keep the Holy Ghost as our guide. Holiness is setting aside our natural tendencies and becoming a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord...” If we work for this, we should also work to be aware of the mercy and the grace that Christ can bestow upon us as we work to grow closer to Him.

In Chapter 2’s synopsis it seems that the Lord is telling them what lays before Israel in the future: “In the last days Judah shall gather to Jerusalem—They shall come from the land of the north—The Lord shall dwell among them.”  The Lord wants Jerusalem to be a Holy City for His people, and when that time comes “For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about and will be the glory in the midst of her.” (v 5) The Lord is waiting and wanting His people to behave in such a way to bring about the Lord’s promise in v 11: “..and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee.” This is the Lord’s description of a future day when we all will dwell with the Lord in a state of holiness. He’s telling us how we can grow to reach that state of holiness.

Chapter 3 specifically tells us about the Second Coming. V’s 1-2 remind us that the Lord can be close to us, but also that Satan can be near us, and we can choose which to follow the one we want. In v 4 He tells us to “take away the filthy garments…Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment.”  V 7 tells us how this can happen: “If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.” The footnotes tell us the ‘these that stand by’ are “the heavenly messengers”. 

The neat thing is that He tells us what to do in order for us to feel His presence in our lives. Our part of this is to choose to follow Him, and also to acknowledge and to express our gratitude for His guidance. All this happens just like any close relationship.


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