DESPISE NOT SMALL THINGS Devotion 3 of 24 Zechariah was a fellow laborer with Haggai, who prophesied to him. His prophecy was also one of the closing ones giving in the Old Covenant period. It appears that these two men were sent around the same time by God, largely to encourage one another, for they did live in decadent times. Although both prophets delivered scathing rebukes to the regressing Israelites, they also sounded the trumpet of hope in their writings. Something was started in their day that was most remarkable something from which we can learn and be encouraged. – Tomorrow:
"Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth." Zechariah 4:8-10, NKJV
The first chapter of Zechariah informs us the word of the Lord came to Zechariah in the eighth month of the second year of the reign of Darius (1:2). That also makes Zechariah a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah. It was during the reign of Darius, in the sixth year of his reign, that the house of God was rebuilt in accord with his decree (Ezra 6:15). That decree was prompted by the uncovering of an edict of former king Cyrus, who commanded the house of God to be built in Jerusalem (Ezra 6:1-3). The Jewish builders "prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia" (Ezra 6:14). This occurred during the close of, and after, the Babylonian captivity. Daniel and Esther were also prominent during this period. What a holy cluster of saints, each one having something to do with the beginning of a new thing with renewal!
Jewish tradition says Zechariah died as a martyr. The Scriptures say nothing of his death. It is generally understood that he was a young man when he began to preach, and was a priest as well as a prophet (Neh 12:16). His book is one containing several most unusual and poignant prophecies. It deals with everything from the rebuke of the lethargic Israelites (1:2-4) and the rebuilding of the temple (6:12-15; 8:9), to the atonement accomplished by the death of Christ (13:1) and the future prominence of Israel in the nation's quest to know God (8:3).
Several references are made to the book of Zechariah in the New Covenant writings. This not only confirms the authenticity of the book, but testifies to its relevance to New Covenant life.
Zechariah 8:16 in Ephesians 4:25. "These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates."
Zechariah 9:9 in Matthew 21:5 and John 12:14-15. "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."
Zechariah 11:12-13 in Matthew 27:9. "And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD."
Zechariah 12:10 in John 19:37 and Revelation 1:7. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Zechariah 13:7 in Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27. "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is My fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn Mine hand upon the little ones."
The words of the text used for this devotional series were delivered by Zecharaiah to Zerubbabel, who had laid the foundation for the house of the Lord. Now Zerubbabel is assured that, through the power of God, he would also finish the house. We will find that the words delivered to him have immediate relevance to everyone who is, according to the will of God, engaged in a work for Him.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me faith and wisdom to relate Your good words to those who have labored for You with my own endeavors for the glory of Your name.