Zechariah 8
Summary for Zech 8:1-23: 8:1-23 a This section of Zechariah’s sermons is connected to the previous one by the topics of fasting (questions posed in 7:2-7 b are answered in 8:18-19 c) and the ethical demands of covenant relationship with the Lord (7:8-10 d; 8:16-17 e). The tone and message shift from admonition and judgment to exhortation and restoration. Fasting would change to feasting (8:19 f).8:2 g Passion (or jealousy, zeal) is a basic element of the Old Testament concept of God (see also 1:14 h). God’s passion identifies him as a personal deity, not an abstract natural force. God is passionate for his word and for the people of his covenant. His passion results in punishment for sin, restoration for repentance, and reward for the pursuit of righteousness.
8:3 i I will live in Jerusalem: The great hope of the postexilic community was that the Lord would return to dwell among his people again (see 1:16-17 j; Hag 2:4-7 k; cp. Ezek 48:35 l).
• I am returning: God would return to Jerusalem not just because the Temple had been rebuilt but because the Hebrew community had been purified (Zech 3 m).
• Isaiah compared Jerusalem to a faithful woman who became a prostitute (Isa 1:21 n). Zechariah shared Isaiah’s vision of Jerusalem’s change into a Faithful City (or city of truth) again (Isa 1:26 o).
Summary for Zech 8:4-5: 8:4-5 p The images of old men and women walking and of boys and girls playing in the streets indicate repopulation and resumption of normal family life in the once decimated city of Jerusalem. The return of God’s presence to his rebuilt Temple would bring peace and safety to the city’s inhabitants (see Jer 33:10-11 q).
8:6 r The Old Testament portrays God as able to do the impossible and the miraculous—nothing is too hard for the God who made the heavens and the earth (Gen 18:14 s; Jer 32:17 t, 27 u; see also Matt 19:26 v).
8:7 w from the east and from the west: This is an idiom meaning from all the regions to which the Hebrews were dispersed (compare Isa 43:5-6 x).
8:8 y They will be my people, and I will be ... their God: This adoption formula depicts the intimate bond between Israel and God in covenant relationship (see Exod 19:5-6 z; Jer 30:22 aa; 31:33 ab; Ezek 34:30-31 ac; Hos 2:23 ad).
Summary for Zech 8:9-13: 8:9-13 ae This section highlights the reversal of Jerusalem’s fortunes as the Temple was rebuilt (cp. 2 Chr 15:3-7 af). The exhortation to be strong (Zech 8:9 ag, 13 ah) is an inclusio (a set of rhetorical bookends) for the section. 8:9 ai Laying of the foundation refers to Zerubbabel’s and Jeshua’s initial work of rebuilding the Temple in 536 BC (Ezra 3:8-13 aj). The Temple reconstruction project was quickly abandoned and was not resumed until the prophets Haggai and Zechariah prompted it sixteen years later (Ezra 5:1-2 ak; Hag 1:1 al).
8:10 am enemies: The neighboring peoples opposed the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra 4 an). Later, enemies opposed Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem (Neh 4 ao).
8:12 ap Peace (Hebrew shalom) is an important theme underlying Zechariah’s message (8:10 aq, 12 ar, 16 as, 19 at). God’s presence in the rebuilt Temple would bring peace to Judah (see Hag 2:6-9 au). Zechariah uses the agricultural cycle to represent God’s blessing (see Hag 2:18-19 av), which would reverse the drought conditions that Haggai described (Hag 1:10 aw).
• The small community that returned to Judah from exile was called the remnant. Theologically, the remnant is a bridge between God’s punishment and his promised restoration (see Hag 1:12 ax, 14 ay).
Summary for Zech 8:14-15: 8:14-15 az determined: The repetition of this word emphasizes God’s sovereignty in judging Israel’s sin and then in blessing them.
8:16 ba God expects his people to act with integrity and justice (see Eph 4:25 bb).
• The courts (literally the gates): Legal proceedings were conducted at the gates of the city or Temple (see Deut 21:19 bc; 25:7 bd).
8:17 be In Zechariah’s time, the people of Judah were guilty of the same sins that brought about the Babylonian exile. Such behavior put God’s plans for restoration in jeopardy (see 7:8-10 bf; 8:16 bg).
• I hate all these things: God’s hatred of evil (Ps 5:5 bh; Prov 6:16-19 bi) stems from his absolute holiness (Pss 5:4 bj; 15:1 bk; 24:3 bl).
8:19 bm Here the Lord finally answers the question posed by the delegates from Bethel (7:2-3 bn).
• The fast in early summer commemorated the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls (2 Kgs 25:3-4 bo; Jer 52:6-7 bp). The midsummer fast lamented the burning of Solomon’s Temple (2 Kgs 25:8-10 bq; Jer 52:12-14 br). The fast in autumn marked the assassination of Gedaliah, governor of Jerusalem (2 Kgs 25:22-25 bs; Jer 41:1-3 bt) or the Day of Atonement (Lev 23:26-32 bu). The fast in winter recalled the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem (2 Kgs 25:1 bv; Jer 52:4 bw).
• The fasts will turn to feasts when God restores Israel and sets his glory among the nations (Isa 65:18-19 bx).
8:23 by God is with you: God’s presence restored the ideal of fellowship between God and human beings (Gen 3:8 bz; Exod 24:9-11 ca; 25:8 cb; Isa 7:14 cc; 57:15 cd; Ezek 43:7 ce; John 1:14 cf).
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