Day 263 (Zechariah 1-4) - Year 8

In Zechariah’s first vision, horses patrol the earth and report back that everything is at rest. That sounds peaceful, but for God, it is a problem: the nations that mistreated His people should not be at rest. God has returned to Jerusalem with mercy for His people, but for those who opposed them, His anger has increased. Verse 15 says, “While I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster.” The man riding among the myrtle trees—referred to as the angel of the Lord in verses 11–12—is likely a Christophany, God the Son acting as mediator before His birth as Jesus.

The second vision features four horns and four craftsmen. The horns represent the nations and empires that scattered God’s people—possibly Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome, or a general stand-in for any nation that harms them. The craftsmen (or blacksmiths) come to smash those horns as punishment. In the third vision, a man measures Jerusalem. Two angels tell Zechariah that God will fill Jerusalem and be its protection. God urges the exiles to return home, promising to personally deal with anyone who harms them: they are the apple of His eye. In Zechariah 2:11, God reiterates a theme seen throughout Scripture: “Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people.”

The Accuser and the Filthy Garments