The Strand Study Bible

ZECHARIAH 6:14

ZECHARIAH 8:9

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14 And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. 15 And 1 they that are far off 2 shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the 3 LORD OF HOSTS hath sent 4 ME unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God. P

pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. 12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his SPIRIT by the former prophets: therefore came 13 a great wrath from the LORD of hosts. 13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, 14 and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts: 14 But I scattered them with a whirlwind 15 among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate. Zechariah 8 The promise of Israel’s restoration (Fulfilled - Rev 20:4) Date Written - 518 BC/AM 3482 1 Again the word of the LORD OF HOSTS came to me, saying, 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. 3 Thus saith the LORD; 16 I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a 17 city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. P 4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; 16 There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. P 5 16 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. P 6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts. 7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; 16 Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; P 8 16 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. P 9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the 18 proph- ets, which were in the day that the foun- dation of the house of the LORD of hosts

1. or, “Gentiles” 2. Fulfilled - Rev 20:4,6 (Christ’s Kingdom) 3. “ Jehovah ” Note - In this case Jehovah is referring to God the Father. 4. or, “Christ your Messiah” - Zech 2:8-9,11 5. or, “December” 6. or, “in the month in which Jerusalem fell” - II ki 25:8-10 7. or, “in the month in which Gedaliah was killed” - II Ki 25:25 8. that is, “from 605- 536 B.C.” 9. Isa 58:1-5 10. Note - What good is a fast if all it does is turn into a time of feasting? Fasting is for humility purposes, not an excuse for feasting and commemorating a national tragedy. The kind of fasting that God had in mind was meant to humble us and to break us to the point of mourning ( Isa 58:6 ). If Israel’s forefathers had obeyed God to begin with, they would never have needed those other self-imposed fasts ( Lev 16:29 ). 11. Deut 16:18-20 & Isa 58:6-10 12. Exo 22:21 13. that is, “Babylon’s three invasions” - II Chro 36:16 & II Ki 24,25 14. Jere 37:17 & Prov 1:24-33 15. II Ki 25:8-11 16. Fulfilled - Rev 20:4 (Israel’s Restoration) 17. Isa 1:21 18. Ezra 5:1-2

Zechariah 7 Insincere fasting (Note - This portion of Zechariah’s prophecy took place in the 4th year of King Darius I’s reign) Date Written - Dec. 4th, 518 BC/AM 3482

1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the 5 ninth month, even in Chisleu; 2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, 3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORDOFHOSTS , and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? 4 Then came the word of the LORD OF HOSTS unto me, saying, 5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the 6 fifth and 7 seventh month, even those 8 seventy years, 9 did ye at all 10 fast unto me, even to me? 6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves? 7 Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former proph- ets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain? The reasons for unanswered prayer 8 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, 9 Thus speaketh the LORD OF HOSTS , saying, 11 Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: 10 And 12 oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. 11 But they refused to hearken, and

7:3 The question arose, “Now that the Temple is almost rebuilt, should we continue to fast and weep in the very same month ( fifth month ) that Babylon burned our Temple back in December of 586 BC (II Ki 25:8-9)?” God answers, “No, not if you are going to fast wrongly” ( did ye at all fast unto me, even to me - vs 5).