Old Testament
Zechariah
Visions for a small, discouraged people rebuilding a small temple.
Prophecy / Apocalyptic · 14 chapters · About 30 minutes
c. 520–480 BC
Overview
The exiles have come home, but the rebuilt temple is a shadow of the old one, and everyone knows it. Zechariah's visions are for people disappointed by their own fresh start.
The word that carries the book: not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit. Small beginnings are not to be despised.
Its later chapters are quoted all over the Gospels — the king on a donkey, the thirty pieces of silver, the pierced one.
What it keeps returning to
Small beginnings
'Whoever despises the day of small things' — God is in the unimpressive.
Not by might
The work of God is done by the Spirit, not by human horsepower.
The coming King
Humble, riding a donkey, and carrying peace.
Start here
Zechariah 4:6–10
Not by might, nor by power — and the day of small things.
Zechariah 9:9
The king on a donkey, quoted at Palm Sunday.
Zechariah 13:1
A fountain opened for sin and uncleanness.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”