BIBLE SUMMARY: ZECHARIAH

Book of Zechariah Synopsis: Statistics And Summary of Main Topics.

Book of Zechariah Chapter by Chapter Summary.

ZECHARIAH TOTAL CHAPTERS: 14

ZECHARIAH TOTAL VERSES: 211

TOTAL WORDS: 6,444

DATE WRITTEN: 520 – 518 BC

AUTHOR: Zechariah

ZECHARIAH THEME: 

Peace And Prosperity To Come. Message about Rebuilding Temple, Israel’s future trials, Future Restoration and King Messiah.

MAJOR CHARACTERS:

God, Zechariah, People of Israel, Coming Messiah.

BOOK OF ZECHARIAH KEY VERSES:

1:3: Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the LORD Almighty.

7:13: When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the LORD Almighty.

9:9: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

13:9: This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.

ZECHARIAH SUMMARY

The Book of Zechariah was written around 520 B.C.

 the Persians had overthrown Babylon. After 70 years of captivity, Persian king Cyrus, issued a decree in 538 B.C. allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. This fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah and others. This leads to a group of about 50,000 Jews returning to the land of Israel under the leadership of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel and the people rebuild the altar and reestablish worshipping with sacrifices. Neighboring groups opposed the work on the temple and the work stopped for 16 years. Few Persian kings were replaced and Darius the Great comes to the throne. He supports the Jews and allows the work on the temple to resume. Zechariah was a prophet during the same time as Haggai, about 20 years after the Israelites were released from their captivity in Babylon. Zechariah’s first prophecy came two months after Haggai started. Book of Haggai is the second shortest in the Old Testement while Zechariah is one of the longest of the Minor Prophets. Like Haggai, he encouraged the people who returned to the land from Babylon to rebuild the temple. The reconstruction of Temple has stopped and the people were in need of exhortation. Zechariah deals with Israel’s complaint that they have experienced God’s chastisement for their sin, but the surrounding nations have gone unpunished. The book can be divided into two parts: The Visions of Zechariah chapters 1-8 and the Prophecies of the Lord chapters 9-14. The visions show that the LORD remembers his promises and his love for his people. The prophecy is the section that has more to do with the coming king/shepherd Jesus.

CHAPTER WISE SUMMARY:

Chapter#1: A call to return to The God. Return to me and I will return to you. Vision 1: Horsemen among the myrtle trees. The Lord will again comfort Zion. Vision 2: Four horns and four craftsmen.
Chapter#2: Vision 3: A man with a measuring line. Jerusalem to be measured. The Lord, “a wall of fire all around”. Touching the pupil of God’s eye. Many nations will join themselves to The God.
Chapter#3: Vision 4: High priest’s garments replaced. Satan resists High Priest Joshua. ‘I will bring in my servant Sprout!”
Chapter#4: Vision 5: A lampstand and two olive trees. Not by power, but by my spirit. Do not scorn the day of small beginnings.
Chapter#5: Vision 6: The flying scroll. Vision 7: The ephah container. A woman inside named Wickedness. The container taken away to Shinar.
Chapter#6: Vision 8: Four chariots. The Sprout to be king and priest.
Chapter#7: The Lord condemns insincere fasting. Did you really fast for me. Deal with one another in justice, loyal love, and mercy.
Chapter#8: God gives Zion peace and truth. Jerusalem, the city of truth. Speak the truth with one another. From fasting to feasting. Let us earnestly seek The Lord. Ten men take hold of the robe of a Jew.
Chapter#9: God’s judgment on neighboring nations. The coming of Zion’s king. A humble king riding on a donkey. The God’s people to be released.
Chapter#10: Ask The God, not false gods, for rain. The Lord unifies his people. The keyman from the house of Judah.
Chapter#11: Results of rejecting God’s true shepherd. Shepherd the flock meant for the slaughter. Two staffs: Pleasantness and Union. Shepherd’s wages: 30 pieces of silver. The money thrown into the treasury.
Chapter#12: The God to defend Judah and Jerusalem. Jerusalem, “a heavy stone. Wailing over the one pierced.
Chapter#13: Removal of idols and false prophets. False prophets to feel ashamed. The shepherd to be struck. A third part to be refined.
Chapter#14: Complete triumph of true worship. Mount of Olives to split in half. God to be one, and his name one. Scourge for Jerusalem’s opposers. Celebration of the Festival of Booths. Every pot to be holy to The God.