LESSON 6 ZECHARIAH 1 – 3
Thus declares the L ord of hosts: Return to me, says the L ord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the L ord of hosts. —Zechariah 1:3
God used Haggai’s messages to stir up the people to begin rebuilding; however, the people were not wholeheartedly dedicated to the Lord in their efforts. In the same time frame, God raised up Zechariah, a priest and prophet, born in Babylon. He received the word of the Lord two months after Haggai received his first mes- sage, and he prophesied for three years. Zechariah’s name means “Yahweh remembers,” and his message would remind the Jewish people that God was not absent and their faithful obedience was not use- less. God used Zechariah’s prophecy, in the form of eight visions and two sermons (chapters 1–8), to bring about the spiritual reformation of His people. Like Haggai, Zechariah would bring a message of repentance, but he would also remind the Jews of God’s faithfulness to His promises, including the hope of a glorious future when the Messiah would rule the world from Jerusalem. In Lessons 6–8, we will study Zechariah chapters 1–8. These chapters contain vi- sions and messages that Zechariah delivered to the returned exiles. Zechariah 9–14 contains prophecies that came to Zechariah much later and describe the first and second coming of Jesus Christ. These are important prophecies, and we encourage you to read them, but we will not study them in The Second Exodus . (For additional information and resources, visit grace.church/secondexodus.)
READ THE WORD Pray. Take a moment to pray, asking the Lord to prepare your heart and teach you.
Zechariah 1–3 1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the L ord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, 2 “The L ord was very angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, Thus declares the L ord of hosts: Return to me, says the L ord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the L ord of hosts. 4 Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the L ord of hosts, Return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.’ But they did not hear or pay attention to me, declares the L ord . 5 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? So they repented and said, ‘As the L ord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us.’”
62 | Lesson 6
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