Zechariah!

I had forgotten about this wonderful minor prophet; a sermon I recently heard mentioned him in passing as an advisor to the king Uzziah in 2nd Chronicles 26. I wanted to find out more about him.
There is so much in his writings I love(well, I am only about half-way through, but my heart is bursting, so I wanted to share with you), especially starting around the eighth chapter. God worked mightily through this man.

He talked about fasting and the right spirit:

7:5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?
7:9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
7:10 And 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.

But they closed their ears on this!! Let us not close ours!

Again he shows that the heart is his aim and not only sacrifices and fasting:

8:16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
8:17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.

He also shows his love for the nations, and a time when we will continuosly seek God:

8:20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
8:21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
8:22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.
8:23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

It sounds like Pentecost and Acts to me.

And of course, the triumphal entry is in this book:
9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

The minor prophets have so many jems in them; let us not neglect them. I praise God for leading me to read this one.
Anyone else find something interesting in this book that I neglected? I am sure that I've only scratched the surface. :-) (Besides the fact that on the verses I mentioned, I could have missed something.) I simply find it most encouraging how "much" of the NT is in the OT.

I simply find it most encouraging how "much" of the NT is in the OT.

Psalm 119:
18 \tOpen my eyes, that I may see
\tWondrous things from Your law.
19 \tI am a stranger in the earth;
\tDo not hide Your commandments from me.

82 \tMy eyes fail from searching Your word,
\tSaying, “When will You comfort me?”

103 How sweet are Your words to my taste,
\t\tSweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through Your precepts I get understanding;
\t\tTherefore I hate every false way.
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
\t\tAnd a light to my path.

Proverbs 2:

1 My son, if you receive my words,
\tAnd treasure my commands within you,
2 \tSo that you incline your ear to wisdom,
\tAnd apply your heart to understanding;
3 \tYes, if you cry out for discernment,
\tAnd lift up your voice for understanding,
4 \tIf you seek her as silver,
\tAnd search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 \tThen you will understand the fear of the LORD,
\tAnd find the knowledge of God.
6 \tFor the LORD gives wisdom;
\tFrom His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 \tHe stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
\tHe is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
8 \tHe guards the paths of justice,
\tAnd preserves the way of His saints.
9 \tThen you will understand righteousness and justice,
\tEquity and every good path.
10 \tWhen wisdom enters your heart,
\tAnd knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 \tDiscretion will preserve you;
\tUnderstanding will keep you,

Just a thought to come alongside what you said above...

God Bless
Jeff

Hos. 3:4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.

Hosea 6:1 Come, and let us return to the LORD;
\tFor He has torn, but He will heal us;
\tHe has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 \tAfter two days He will revive us;
\tOn the third day He will raise us up,
\tThat we may live in His sight.
3 \tLet us know,
\tLet us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
\tHis going forth is established as the morning;
\tHe will come to us like the rain,
\tLike the latter and former rain to the earth.
4 \t“O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
\tO Judah, what shall I do to you?
\tFor your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
\tAnd like the early dew it goes away.
5 \tTherefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
\tI have slain them by the words of My mouth;
\tAnd your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 \tFor I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
\tAnd the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Neh. 7: 1 Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. 3 Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

Neh. 8:13 Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law. 14 And they found written in the Law, which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, 15 and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the mountain, and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.”

Neh. 8:16 Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. 17 So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.

Zech. 14:16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

Zech. 14:20 In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the LORD of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

In Christ
Jeff

We should always seek out God and his wisdom in his word. Thanks for the addition.
Yes, I can't wait for that day- although there will be great woe for those who attacked and do not follow God, we will be able to worship him freely and be with him.

:roll: I accidentally put together the Zechariah of Uzziah's time and the minor prophet that wrote the book. They could not have been the same person, as around two hundred years separates their ministries! I am glad still that I read the book.